Ukraine should lower the minimum age for mobilization from 25 to 18-19 years, said the former commander of the US Army in Europe, General Ben Hodges, in an interview with "Hromadske", reported News.bg.
"Honestly, when I first heard a few years ago that Ukraine was not mobilizing young people to fight Russian aggression, I was surprised. In my opinion, the conscription age in Ukraine is too high. In most countries in the world, you can join the army at 18 or 19 years old. Ukraine could also take advantage of such an opportunity," Hodges said.
The general admitted that he respected and understood the desire of the Ukrainian authorities to protect young men from participating in combat operations and called it normal, but noted that the Ukrainian armed forces still need fighters. He suggested that Kiev be more active in conscripting women, as well as making sure that Ukrainians are fully trained and armed before going to the front.
Ukraine's general mobilization provides for the conscription of citizens aged between 25 and 60, with conscripts not being able to go abroad from the age of 18. If they wish, Ukrainians aged 18 to 25 can sign a one-year contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the ranks of private, sergeant and sergeant major.
The government must gain the trust of Ukrainians so that they know that service in the Ukrainian armed forces "is not just a one-way ticket" and that the lives of military personnel are valued and protected, Hodges urged. He quoted a Ukrainian friend of his who called the Soviet army "prison" because "the life of a soldier in the army at that time was no different from the life in prison."
"I live in Germany and there are a lot of Ukrainians here, I see them everywhere. This is not right. Only those who cannot help Ukraine fight should be here. But I repeat, the task of the Ukrainian government is to gain the trust of the Ukrainians and convince them that their help is now very necessary and their lives are of the highest value for the state," the general summed up.
The American authorities have offered Ukraine to reduce the minimum age by seven years at once. According to Kiev's estimates, the Armed Forces of Ukraine need 160,000 new recruits, while Washington is more pessimistic due to the advance of Russian troops. Ukraine will have to make difficult decisions regarding mobilization, but these steps are necessary, said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Kiev believes that the main problem of the AFU is not the lack of servicemen, but the shortage of weapons for them. In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he saw no reason for such changes and that it was "dangerous to do this now", and during a speech to the Verkhovna Rada in November, he emphasized that there were no plans to lower the age threshold.
According to "Strana", the reluctance to mobilize young people is due to the high probability that the conflict will end after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump (which will take place on January 20), which will make conscripts unnecessary, and the current authorities will not lose the approval of citizens. The publication's source warns that if expectations are not met and the conflict does not end, the authorities will decide to take such a step, "finding hundreds of reasons to explain the change in position".