Ukraine lowers its conscription age to 25 to plug a shortfall in troop numbers fighting Russia

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By HANNA ARHIROVA and SAMYA KULLAB
Updated 7:36 AM CDT, April 3, 2024

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Wednesday lowered the military conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks after more than two years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The new mobilization law came into force a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed it last year.

It was not immediately clear why Zelenskyy took so long to sign the measure into law. He made only a brief public comment about it at a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

An audit requested by Ukraine’s recently appointed commander in chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, found that a previous estimate that the country needed 500,000 new recruits was wrong, Zelenskyy said. That is partly because troops serving in the rear can be sent to the front line, he said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-conscription-mobilization-251058a942a253f3eaec2c53373adf03

[Lovie777]

1. Putin is blaming Ukraine for the terror attack on the mall........

Putin will be sending more to the meat grinder. The man is insane.

[EX500rider]

2. I don't understand why it's not 18

[tornado34jh]

3. In different countries it might be different

They usually are between 16-20. But interestingly, Ukraine's is 20, so I am not sure why, but I guess it changes with time.

[maxsolomon]

4. Article says it's lowered from 27 to 25.

So, it's a range? They lowered the upper end? 20-25?

[former9thward]

5. No, the lowest you can be drafted is now 25.

You can join at 18. Zelensky supporters, who tend to be young, are very opposed to anything lower. They did not even want 25 but Ukraine is rapidly running out of men. The army is mainly in their 40s now.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/zelensky-signs-law-lowering-draft-age-bid-boost-military-ranks/

[maxsolomon]

6. that's how I read it. #3 confused me.

putin's meat grinder strategy is paying dividends. he has more bodies to throw into it.

[former9thward]

7. Yes, I think #3 is confused.

Not sure what it was about.

[tornado34jh]

8. Let me clarify what I meant

I was looking up the military age for all the countries, this was the basis of how I understood it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_enlistment_age_by_country

But after doing more research, before 2014, there was no conscription age, and it was Viktor Yanukovych that ended it, but when war started in 2014 (this was under Petro Poroshenko), it was put back up. Initially, it was 18-25, but in 2015, it was changed to 20-27 at the time.

[Martin68]

9. I assumed the minimum age was 18, as it was in the U.S.