Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna has spoken out about the Biden administration's demands to lower the military draft age in Ukraine. According to her, such statements are an attempt to shift responsibility from the United States for the lack of weapons supplies.
“Lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine cannot be dictated by statements from White House officials or anyone else,” Stefanishyna said. She added that mobilization is a reality that cannot be adjusted to political demands, and that soldiers must be provided with everything necessary to effectively perform their duties.
Stefanishyna also expressed the opinion that calls to lower the mobilization age to 18 may be part of political maneuvering. “I personally perceive this as a desire to remove responsibility for agreements that were made earlier,” she noted.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that it rejects US calls to lower the military age, in particular to 18, and intends to use alternative methods, such as voluntary conscription with payments. It recently became known that Ukraine plans to pay half a million hryvnia to young men who voluntarily join the army.
At the same time, according to sources, Bankova does not want to lower the minimum mobilization age, which is currently 25 years old, given the likelihood that the war will end in the coming years, after the inauguration of Donald Trump. The authorities want to use their position as an element of the election campaign, stating that they will not allow the destruction of the “gene pool” of the nation. However, if the war continues for a long time, Ukraine may change its policy and lower the mobilization age.
