Mobilisation from age 25 could add about 100,000 young fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, sources say
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The mobilisation starting at the age of 25 could add approximately 100,000 young servicemen to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda’s article A country for old men. How the Armed Forces of Ukraine became a 40+ army and whether lowering the mobilisation age will affect combat-readiness (English translation coming soon)
Details: The law to lower the mobilisation age from 27 to 25 years had been awaiting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's signature for almost a year since its adoption by the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament).
Ukrainska Pravda sources who participated in meetings of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff said that Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reminded the president about this document several times. However, Zelenskyy hesitated, particularly due to his aversion to unpopular political decisions and the financial aspect of mobilising new servicemen.
At a press conference at the end of last year, the president stated that the military had proposed an additional mobilisation of 450-500,000 people, including men aged 25 and older. He estimated the funding for mobilising such a number of people from the state budget at approximately UAH 500 billion (approx. US$13.4 billion).
Nevertheless, due to the depletion of Defence Forces and irreversible losses at the front, Zelenskyy finally signed the law.
Whether it will be possible to significantly rejuvenate the military through the mobilisation of 25–26-year-olds is a debatable question, especially considering the demographic situation in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Hladun, Deputy Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, said 416,349 boys were born in Ukraine in 1998–1999. They should now be 25–26 years old. Of course, not all of them will join the Armed Forces of Ukraine – some due to health conditions, others because they are abroad or in territories occupied by Russia.
At the same time, sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine predict that the decision to conscript men starting at 25 years old could add approximately 100,000 young fighters to the Ukrainian military.
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