Servicemen who have been at the front for a long time are exhausted and are eager for demobilization. At the same time, lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine is not advisable today. This was stated by Yevhen Oropay, head of the command post of the unmanned systems battalion of the 4th operational brigade “Rubizh” on Radio Liberty .
“Are all the servicemen currently serving tired? Yes, they are tired. Do we have enough personnel to hold the line of defense, carry out certain rotational actions, and provide the front lines with qualified specialists? No, there is not enough, we always have a shortage of personnel. That is, the front line of combat is always weakened,” he said.
According to the military, the army needs young people who are “hot-blooded,” who can learn quickly, and who do not have protrusions, back problems, or knee problems. He noted that 18-year-old boys and girls will be able to quickly learn how to use drones.
“But the downside is that 18 years old is a bit too young to see war,” Oropay emphasized.
According to him, young people do not yet have families and children, they have not continued their lineage.
"We will win this war with great blood and great losses. I am inclined to believe that it is too early to mobilize at the age of 18. I really want rotation, to see a family, so that the war ends as soon as possible, but not with the great blood, when 18-year-old boys who have not seen life, have not married and do not have children went to the army," the military man emphasized.
He emphasized that he does not support the idea of lowering the mobilization age even by a year. The military believes that it is optimal to mobilize from the age of 25, because this is already a fairly mature person. At the same time, he supports the idea of voluntary enlistment in the army of people under 25 years old.
Answering a question about what some MPs say about the possibility of lowering the mobilization age from 25 to a year or two, Oropay noted that let their children set an example.
“If the deputies say that the mobilization age can be lowered by a year or two, then I would like to ask the majority of deputies where their sons are now. When a battalion of deputies' sons is formed and I see them on the front line, then I will believe that we need to send 22-23-year-olds to the front line of contact and carry out assigned combat missions. And today it is 25 years old. And let's stop at this figure,” he said.
The military man noted that his unit has 18- and 19-year-old boys and girls who perform their combat missions perfectly, but there are not many of them. According to him, there is no need to forcibly mobilize even at the age of 20-22.
"A person without children, without a family, who has not given the next generation. This will not lead to anything good, because the nation will lose its future in the long term. We must reproduce our gene pool. I would not like young guys to leave for other countries now, understanding that they can be busified," the military man emphasized.
As we reported, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the administration of US President Joe Biden, believes that the problem with mobilization in Ukraine and the number of mobilized citizens has developed over time. It has become more acute over the past year, so Ukraine will have to make an independent decision on whether or not to lower the mobilization age to 18.
Sullivan also emphasized that Ukraine's need to "have the ability" to fully man brigades and battalions is growing as the US supplies a huge amount of ammunition and military equipment.
