Zelenski lowers the military mobilization age from 27 to 25. Ukraine’s army is short of men

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on Tuesday to reduce the age of military mobilization from 27 to 25, as the armed forces run out of men in the face of the Russian invasion.

The draft law, which was adopted a year ago by parliamentarians and was awaiting promulgation by the presidency, will enter into force on Wednesday, the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, said on its website.

The Ukrainian government must then align the various regulatory texts with the new situation regarding the mobilization within six months, reports AFP, quoted by Agerpres.

Military conscription has been debated for several months in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian army has suffered losses the extent of which is kept secret, and now, unlike at the beginning of the conflict, it is having difficulty finding volunteers for the front.

Rada had voted in the first reading in February a series of measures to facilitate the mobilization, after a first draft prepared by the government was sent back for rewriting several weeks ago.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed in December 2023 that the military had offered to mobilize up to 500,000 additional personnel, a number that has since been revised downwards by the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, Oleksandr Sîrski.

The current system is considered by many Ukrainians to be unfair, ineffective and often corrupt. Also, there are more and more voices calling for the demobilization of those who have been at the front for a long time.

Publisher: MB

Download the Digi24 app and find out the most important news of the day