Why Ukraine, in war with Russia, has reduced conscription age

Amid the raging Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill to lower the mobilisation age for combat duty by two years.

Interestingly, the bill was lying on Zelenskyy’s table for about a year before being approved by the president on Tuesday.

The legislation is expected to help the Ukrainian forces to mobilise more fighting power in its war against Russia.

While it was not clear what prompted the Ukrainian president to sign the bill, the parliament of the conflict-stricken nation has been discussing a separate legislation to tighten the draft rules for months.

In the recent phase of the war, the Ukrainian troops have been on the back foot on the battleground and have been facing a shortage of ammunition supplies.

It is interesting to note that the signing of the bill was not immediately announced by the president’s office. However, the Ukrainian parliament merely updated the addition of the bill on its website.

What is the new military mobilisation age?

With the signing of the legislation, the new age of military mobilisation was reduced from 27 to 25 years. It is pertinent to note that the mobilization draft bill has already seen several amendments in the parliament since the start of 2024.

Following the commencement of the conflict, Ukrainian citizens were allowed to voluntarily join the army starting at the age of 18. Not only this, men between the ages of 18 and 16 are barred from leaving the country under the martial laws that were in place immediately after Russia’s military invasion.

However, before the bill received the president’s assent, the mobilisation draft protected younger men — many of whom are students — from being forcibly mobilized.

Why did the Bill receive Zelenskyy’s approval?

The latest move would expand the number of civilians the army can mobilise into its ranks to fight the war. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been placed under martial law.

In December, Zelenskyy stated that the country’s military had proposed mobilising 500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces. The request was made by former military chief, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny.

However, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the new head of the Ukrainian armed forces maintained that the aforementioned figure is no longer up-to-date and assured that it has been “significantly reduced after a review of resources,” The Telegraph reported.

In the past, there have been constant calls to reduce the military mobilisation age. Some called it a crucial step since Ukraine was struggling to garner a constant flow of foreign aid.

Another main reason for the reduction of the age is the fact that the average age of Ukrainian troops is over 40. “It is very unusual to have your wars fought by your dads,” quipped Gen. Richard Barrons, former commander of the British military’s Joint Forces Command.

Hence, it was argued that the younger men would be in a better physical condition to fight the battle against the Russians. A similar assertion was made by US Senator Lindsey Graham during his visit to Kyiv.

“I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.”

What caused the delay? 

The Ukrainian leader gave the green signal to the bill months after he stated that he would only sign the bill if the parliament provided him with a strong enough argument to do so.

Zelenskyy has expressed reservations over the bill since he stated that Ukraine lacks the funds to pay for new conscripts.

The discussion over the legislation has been decisive in Ukrainian society as well. While support for the military is extremely high among Ukrainians, many in the country have been hesitant to join the battleground.

Not only this, some soldiers have been fighting for over two years with little to no breaks. However, Syrsky took this argument to put forward his case in favour of the legislation.

“It is necessary to take into account the fact that people are not robots,” Syrsky said, insisting that more people are needed to establish regular rotations away from the front for the most combat-weary units.

“They are exhausted, physically and psychologically, especially in combat conditions. For example, those who came to military recruitment centres in February 2022 — these people need rest and treatment," he furthered.

Zelenskyy passes another controversial bill

In addition to lowering the draft age, the Ukrainian leader signed two other bills. One required men given waivers from military service on disability grounds to have another medical assessment.

The second bill will create an online database of people eligible for military service. Both were passed with the aim of helping the military draft more fighters.

However, the second bill became controversial with many opposing the legislation because of privacy and security concerns. Despite the criticisms, Zelenskyy has emphasised that the bills are the need of the hour.

In February, Zelenskyy revealed that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war. Meanwhile, US officials have stated that the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed was at least 70,000.