Ukraine proposed lowering the age of those who can be mobilised into the armed forces from 27 to 25 amid statements that another 500,000 soldiers need to be drafted.
The text on lowering the age was published on the Verkhovna Rada’s (Ukrainian parliament) website late on Monday night. It specifies which Ukrainian citizens will be subject to enlistment in the military conscription register.
Defence Minister Rustem Umerov signed an explanatory note outlining key provisions of the bill, including “change of conscription age from 27 to 25 years.”
Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the military’s proposal to mobilise between 450,000 and 500,000 more Ukrainians. However, he has yet to publicly endorse the proposal, saying the government should discuss the issue with military chiefs before sending it to parliament.
This is a very serious number.
David Arakhamia, head of Zelensky’s party in parliament, stated that the government was working on a bill at the request of the military and that it should be presented on Monday.
“The military needs a solution to its problems. Society wants to hear answers to all sensitive questions.”
According to the Ukrainian media familiar with the document, the Ukrainian military officials do not rule out the possibility of mobilising “third-group disabled persons,” including people with only one eye, as well as those who have lost a kidney, a lung or a bladder.
Mobilisation would also affect men suffering from hand paralysis and those missing one or more fingers, the bill reads.
The number of Ukrainian troops remains unknown. However, it has been reported in the past that about one million people are fighting for the country. US officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed and wounded since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, although neither belligerent side publishes official casualty figures.
