Ukraine lowers its conscription age to 25 to replenish its beleaguered troops
apnews.com
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed three bills into law aimed at strengthening the country’s beleaguered forces.

Ukraine on Wednesday lowered the military conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks after more than two years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The new mobilization law came into force a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed it last year.

It was not immediately clear why Zelenskyy took so long to sign the measure into law. He didn’t make any public comment about it, and officials did not say how many new soldiers the country expected to gain or for which units.

Conscription has been a sensitive matter in Ukraine for many months amid a growing shortage of infantry on top of a severe ammunition shortfall that has handed Russia the battlefield initiative. Russia’s own problems with manpower and planning have so far prevented it from taking full advantage of its edge.

  • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.worldEnglish
    163·
    8 months ago

    I’m incredibly disappointed in you. I thought you were better than this. You wouldn’t say “maybe they can draft those brave leftists to protect Palestinians”, would you?

    Russia and Israel are both trying to conduct genocide and conquer land, with different degrees of success. I expected you to be anti genocide no matter the situation. I’m disappointed to see it’s just “opposite of the US” for you.

    I didn’t agree with most of your takes, but I thought you were principled and they at least made me think. Guess I was wrong.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      514·
      8 months ago

      Yes voluntarily. A draft is FORCED. This is not about wanting to defend your own country this is about being forced into the meat grinder.

      Zelensky recently replaced his top army general that said they were in a stalemate and now they have a guy nicknamed “the butcher”.

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to give his military a shakeup by appointing General Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief: many of his troops reacted with despair.

      “Syrskyi will kill us all,” said one soldier, who like others in this story spoke on condition of being granted anonymity.

      That was highlighted by Syrskyi overseeing last year’s dogged nine-month defense of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops suffered high casualties against relentless “meat waves” of Russian attackers before having to abandon the eastern city. That earned him the gruesome nickname of “Butcher.”