Proposal to lower draft age pushes Ukraine towards unpopular political decisions - Ukrainian major

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Any military officer will tell you that we need more people, as the situation is tough. It’s not only our situation but also Russia’s, though they can afford to throw many of their people into the ‘meat grinder,’ which we cannot do. Therefore, the situation is complex, and we need to take in new recruits somewhere. The question is where to find them and which demographic groups to use. Insisting on taking only 18-year-olds seems like pushing Ukraine towards an unpopular political decision," Viktor Trehubov, clarified.

He explained that if the issue were about needing more people, there would be an "either-or" system – either Ukraine would have to conscript 18-year-olds or, hypothetically, mobilize more women for support roles, or more thorough checks could be conducted through registries. There are options, but for some reason, only one of them is being emphasized.

• On November 28, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tykhyi, stated that the United States had indeed raised the issue of lowering the conscription age in Ukraine to 18, but Kyiv believes that military aid is more important.
• On December 1, the spokesperson for the Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleh Dombrovskyi, stated that there is currently no need to mobilize citizens aged 18 to 25. The conscription age should not be influenced externally; it is the right of each country to independently determine the age for conscription.