The decision to draft younger men into military service was expected / Article

After a year-long evaluation, the President of Ukraine has signed changes to the law, which requires men aged 25 and over to be drafted into the army. Until now, this threshold in the mandatory conscription was two years higher – starting from the age of 27, men could be conscripted into the army up to the age of 60. However, younger men and women could also volunteer to defend their homeland.

The mandatory conscription age has now been lowered, thus Ukraine is trying to expand the pool of potential conscripts.

The Ukrainian army needs fresh forces

Ukraine’s army is short of manpower and under the previous commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, it was reported that the army needed 500,000 new soldiers to replace existing soldiers and replenish its forces.

On the other hand, the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandrs Sirskyi, recently announced in an interview that after reviewing the internal resources and clarifying the combat composition of the armed forces, this required number has been significantly reduced.

Sirskis did not say exactly how many new soldiers would be needed. However, it is clear that the Ukrainian army needs fresh forces.

Ukrainian soldiers who have been fighting at the front for more than two years (mostly those who volunteered to defend the country immediately after the full invasion began, many joined voluntarily without waiting for mobilization) are tired of two years of war and need people to replace them.

Therefore, Ukraine is currently trying to sort out the issues related to mobilization. Lowering the age threshold for conscripts is only one of these issues, and like all other issues affecting the strengthening of mobilization, the society has mixed opinions.

Young men do not rush to the front

A Latvian Radio correspondent in Kyiv spoke to some young men on Wednesday, asking for their opinion on the approved changes.

“Reducing the age, in my opinion, is wrong, considering that it is the economic potential of the future. If more young people are taken to the front and now, in connection with the mobilization law, more people can be called up – this will further affect the economy in the direction of its deterioration,” says Yevgens.

“But if you look at what is currently happening at the front – there is a problem with the lack of personnel, and if you look at it from this side, then maybe it is purposeful,” admits Yevgens.

Yevgeny also has a negative view of the lowering of the mobilization age: “I have a negative attitude. I believe that, similar to, for example, the USA, there are people who are ready to go to war and are paid for it, and there are people who are not ready to go to war.

There are a lot of people these days who don’t even have the strength to kill a chicken, let alone a human. I think that a person should be ready for it, and not put him in front of the fact – fight!”

Artem and Yaroslav say that they are currently students and continue their studies. “We’re 21 years old. Well, it’s been a long time coming, I don’t know how long it is…”

“To be honest, we were morally ready for it. If it is reduced further, well, it is doubtful, but what can be done,” says Jaroslav. “It’s scary. Scared.”

Meanwhile, Ilya says he lives for this day. “I don’t think anything about it yet.”

The digitization of the army will be promoted

On Tuesday, Zelenskyi also signed a bill to create an online registry of conscripts. This means that, in many cases, new recruits will not have to go to recruitment centers to fill out some documents, it will all be done electronically.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Katerina Chernogorenko called it an important step forward in the digitalization of the army.

“The signed bill will undoubtedly be a historic bill for Ukraine. It foresees a revolution in the army in terms of digitalization. It is an important step that is very important for us. It provides for a new philosophy in the treatment of services for military personnel and persons subject to military service,” said Chernogorenko.

Debates on mobilization continue in Parliament

In addition to these already approved changes, the Ukrainian parliament is currently considering a draft law that aims to address many other issues related to mobilization. This bill is being torpedoed by the opposition, more than 4,000 amendments have been submitted to it, but little by little it is moving forward.

Among other things, it foresees long-awaited changes – for example, the possibility for soldiers to demobilize after three years of service. Relatives of currently fighting men have been demanding such an opportunity for a long time and recently very loudly.

According to the last public data compiled in the winter, there are theoretically around 11 million men between the ages of 25 and 60 who could be called up for military service in Ukraine.

However, in reality there could be fewer conscripts, as it is estimated that around 3 million men remained in the territory occupied by Russia.

An estimated 1 million men are overseas – having either left before the full-scale invasion or arrived by the time the restriction was imposed. Another approximately 1.5 million men in this supposed mobilization age group have varying degrees of disability.

Also, there is a fairly large number of men about whom the Ukrainian authorities do not have information, where they are and whether they work and pay taxes at all.

In addition, it should be taken into account that Ukraine also needs to maintain the state administration, local governments and promote the economy, because tax income is the only way the army is currently financed – paid salaries to soldiers.

Therefore, in theory, Ukraine would still have quite a few people who could be conscripted, but they could be very hard choices.