Ukraine rejects US call to lower draft age: senior official

Ukraine will not lower the age for drafting soldiers for the war against Russia, despite calls from key ally United States, a senior Ukrainian official has said. (Photo/AFP)

Ukraine will not lower the age for drafting soldiers for the war against Russia, despite calls from key ally United States, a senior Ukrainian official has said.

"Our position is as transparent as possible: we will not lower the mobilisation age," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Thursday.

Mobilisation is a very sensitive topic inside Ukraine.

Army recruiters prowl the streets of major cities and have conducted raids on restaurants and bars in Kiev to check whether fighting-age men have registered with the military authorities.

Zelenskyy this year lowered the minimum age at which men can be drafted from 27 to 25, but is resisting calls to go further.

Last month US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Ukraine "needs to do more, in our view, to firm up its lines in terms of the number of forces it has on the front lines."

'Existential' recruitment crunch

A senior official from outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration said in November Ukraine was facing an "existential" recruitment crunch.

Pressed on what Washington considers an appropriate minimum age for conscription, the official replied that "we think there's real value in them considering lowering the recruiting age to 18" - in line with the US benchmark. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kiev is instead pushing the West to give it more and better weapons to defend against the Russian military offensive.

"The army must be technologically advanced and have enough weapons. We will not compensate, for example, for the lack of weapons or their range with the youth of the guys," the Ukrainian official told AFP.

"This is not the First World War, but a modern technological war," the official added, accusing Washington of trying to "shift the responsibility to Ukraine" over delays in arms supplies.

The debate comes as Russian troops accelerate an advance on the battlefield in the east and as both sides try to secure an upper hand before US president-elect Donald Trump take office in January.

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Source: TRT