Ukraine Rejects Calls to Lower Conscription Age to 18 – ‘Lacks Weapons to Equip Already Mobilized Soldiers’

Dmytro Lytvyn, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s communications adviser, responded to recent calls for Kyiv to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18 by saying that there are not enough weapons to begin with.

AP News reported Wednesday that the White House is allegedly pushing Ukraine to lower the conscription age to boost manpower, citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official, which echoed a statement by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Nov. 19.

Lytvyn responded on Wednesday evening by saying that Ukraine lacks weapons, not people, in fending off Russia’s invasion. He said delays in weapon deliveries from allies meant Kyiv “lacks weapons to equip already mobilized soldiers.”

“It doesn’t make sense to see calls for Ukraine to lower the mobilization age, presumably in order to draft more people, when we can see that previously announced equipment is not arriving on time. Because of these delays, Ukraine lacks weapons to equip already mobilized soldiers,” Lytvyn said on social media.

He went on to say that Kyiv’s allies “have complete access to the data and can compare promises to actual deliveries.”

“Ukraine cannot be expected to compensate for delays in logistics or hesitation in support with the youth of our men on the frontline,” he added.

Ukraine introduced a new mobilization law in May that lowered the minimum age for conscription from 27 to 25 and replaced conscription with military training for men aged 18-25.

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On Oct. 29, the Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security Council Oleksandr Lytvynenko told Parliament that the army planned to recruit another 160,000 people, which is expected to take place over three months.