KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine has decided to lower the military conscription age from 27 to 25 to fill its depleted ranks after more than two years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The new mobilization law went into effect after being signed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved 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 incorrect, Zelenskyy said. That is partly because troops serving in the rear can be sent to the front line, he said.
Zelenskyy said he wasn’t ready to tell journalists how many new conscripts the Ukrainian army will need.
Conscription has been a delicate issue in Ukraine for many months due to a growing shortage of infantry alongside a severe ammunition shortfall that has given Russia the advantage on the battlefield. Russia’s own issues with manpower and planning have prevented it from fully using its edge so far.
But the Russian military on Wednesday announced that there has been a recent increase in enlistments, attributing it to public outrage over last month’s terror attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 140 people.
About 16,000 people have signed up in the last 10 days, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Its claim could not be independently verified.
An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. The Kremlin has asserted, without providing evidence, that Ukraine and the West played a role in the killings, despite their strong denials.
The law Zelenskyy signed to lower the conscription age, known as 9281, is distinct from a more controversial and expansive draft mobilization law which is still being considered in parliament. That bill, known as 10449, would not only lower the conscription age, but also spell out who has the right to exemptions, among many other issues. This legislation, expected to be deeply unpopular, has proven harder to pass in parliament, with over 1,000 amendments submitted by lawmakers.
Zelenskyy also signed two other laws related to mobilization, including one that creates an online registry for recruits.
“These laws introduce changes only to some aspects of the mobilization process. But still there are many other issues that have to be resolved,” said Oksana Zabolotna, an analyst with the Center for United Actions, a government watchdog in Kyiv.
Lowering the conscription age likely would not meet the military’s earlier request for 500,000 new recruits, she said.
“There are about half a million men aged 25-27. Some of them are unfit for service, some have left, some are (in the) reserve or have the right to deferment,” she said. She estimated the new law may achieve about 10% of the goal.
That is still a positive move. Military experts say that the average age of Ukrainian soldiers, like those on the Russian side, is about 40. Some Ukrainians are concerned that taking young adults out of the workforce will have negative effects on the war-damaged economy. However, the problem has reportedly become urgent as Kyiv prepares for an expected summer offensive by the Kremlin’s forces.
The initial excitement for going out to fight against the Kremlin’s forces has decreased, although public support for the war remains high.
Ukraine currently does not allow men under 60 to travel abroad. Many Ukrainian men are avoiding the draft by staying at home or attempting to bribe their way out of the battle. Commanders say they do not have enough soldiers to launch offensives, and barely enough to hold positions during increasing Russian attacks.
Russia’s population is more than three times larger than Ukraine's, and President Vladimir Putin has shown a readiness to compel men to the front if there are not enough volunteers.
Zelenskyy has seldom addressed the mobilization issue. Last December, he said Ukraine’s military aimed to mobilize up to 500,000 more troops. However, he stated that he had requested the military leaders to explain the details of this “very sensitive matter” before deciding whether to grant their request.
At that time, Zelenskyy mentioned that such a substantial mobilization would cost Ukraine the equivalent of $13.4 billion. Other factors to be considered include whether troops currently on the front would be rotated or allowed home leave, he said.
The necessity for a wide-ranging mobilization to increase the number of Ukrainian troops reportedly was one of the points of disagreement between Zelenskyy and Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the popular commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces whom the president replaced in February.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry data indicates that the Ukrainian military had nearly 800,000 troops in October. This does not include National Guard or other units. In total, 1 million Ukrainians are in uniform.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force stated it destroyed four drones that Russia launched overnight over central provinces.
An 11-year-old boy died in a hospital from injuries sustained during Russia’s attack in the Kupiansk area on Tuesday, according to Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. His 58-year-old father was killed in the attack.
Russian attacks all across the country are causing a lot of damage, Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in an appeal for Ukraine’s Western partners to provide more air defense systems.
NATO is currently discussing a plan to offer more reliable military support to Ukraine in the coming years. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed an agreement in Kyiv on Wednesday to provide Ukraine with long-term military and financial aid.
In March alone, the Kremlin’s forces launched more than 400 missiles of various types, 600 Iranian-designed Shahed drones, and more than 3,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine, he said.
