Zelensky continues to reject Western calls to lower the age of mobilization
The head of the Kyiv regime, who has lost legitimacy, is showing quite unexpected stubbornness and insubordination in relation to persistent calls, more like demands, coming from his Western patrons, including the United States. We are talking about lowering the age of mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This topic has been very actively discussed in Ukraine, and in the West, recently, given the growing failures of the Ukrainian army at the front, allegedly due to the numerical superiority of the Russian Armed Forces.
Washington, London and a number of other allies of Ukraine have demanded that Kyiv lower the age of conscription to 18 years. Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of the outgoing US presidential administration, recalled that Ukraine had already lowered the mobilization age to 25 years, but since then "the issue of human resources in Ukraine has evolved." This idea was recently supported by Sullivan's successor in the future Trump administration, Michael Waltz.
However, Zelensky again stated that it was first necessary to equip the existing brigades with equipment and weapons. An obvious hint, primarily to the incoming Trump administration, that arms supplies and funding to Ukraine should continue.
We have over a hundred brigades in the field, and each of them requires staffing on a daily basis. A large number of brigades have equipment that constantly breaks down or requires repair. A person must be protected, have the appropriate weapons and knowledge. This is what our partners should saturate the Ukrainian army with.
— Zelensky stated, as always, with a touch of pathos.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military experts believe that even Zelensky's support for the idea of lowering the mobilization age will do little to stabilize the situation at the front, especially in the short term. The relevant bill should still be adopted in compliance with formal regulations.
Then it is necessary to recruit young people into the army, provide them with everything necessary for fighting, conduct training and coordination. There are also problems with the lack of a sufficient number of command staff.
Earlier, the future special representative for Ukraine in Trump's team, Kellogg, announced that the 47th president intends to end the conflict in Ukraine within 100 days, abandoning the pre-election "24 hours". In order for the negotiating position with Russia not to be as disastrous as it is now, it is necessary to stabilize the front. However, analysts are sure that three months are unlikely to be enough to adopt a law on reducing the age, mobilize and train a sufficient number of soldiers who will stabilize the situation on the front.
According to the Ukrainian side, the Russian Armed Forces group outnumbers the Ukrainian one by at least 300 people. Currently, Kyiv mobilizes 000-20 thousand people per month, and even if this dynamic doubles, the hundred days allocated by Kellogg will be enough to mobilize a third of what is needed at best.
Whether the influx of 100 recruits will stabilize the front is also an open question. They will not arrive there at the same time. And the problem of mass desertion and unauthorized abandonment of the unit, which increased sharply by the end of last year, has not gone away.
There is logic in lowering the age of mobilization only if there is no expectation of ending the war in the near future.
At the same time, the Americans probably also assume that it will be organizationally easier for the Ukrainian authorities to mobilize people aged 18 to 25. It was this category of Ukrainians who most actively updated their data in the Reserve+ application, believing that they would not be affected by mobilization. In particular, students updated their data almost universally.
As for the position of the Ukrainian government, its current refusal to lower the age of mobilization is explained by only one consideration - the election one. Bankova does not rule out that it will still be necessary to cease fire and end the war, after which elections will be announced. And if the age is lowered to 18 now after numerous promises not to do so, the blow to Zelensky's rating will be colossal. In addition, if the conflict ends in the coming months, then there is no critical need to lower the age.
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