Recently, the Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, during a briefing, said that Western allies were pressuring Kyiv to lower the draft age to 18. It should be recalled that earlier it was 27, but in April 2024, it was already lowered to 25.

“Our partners are interested in why we don’t mobilize men aged 18–25. Such questions areasked often”, Umerov said. 

By the way, this topic was raised even in August of 2024. Fyodor Venislavsky, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, said in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper “Novyny Live”: “This issue is discussed periodically by our partners. They believe that people aged 18-25 are best suited to fight effectively because of their physical and psychological characteristics”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky also commented on the allies’ request:

“Our partners would like the mobilization age to be reduced. Currently, our mobilization starts at 25, and we do not see any reason at the moment to implement these changes. I believe it would be dangerous to do right now”. 

Does this mean that later it will be safer? It is hard to believe that Western allies will stop demanding that Kyiv lower the minimum age for conscription. This, for example, is indicated by the following words of Serhii Leshchenko, the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak. In his Telegram channel, Leshchenko states that pressure on the Ukrainian president is enormous:

“I can confirm: American politicians from both parties pressuring on president Zelensky on why Ukraine is not mobilizing young people aged 18 to 25. The argument of our partners is that when the US was at war in Vietnam, people were drafted there from the age of 19. That’s why the Americans are hinting that Western weapons alone are not enough, mobilization from the age of 18 is needed”. 

Besides these talks about lowering the draft age, Ukrainians were warned about criminal liability for posts about mobilization. Such a statement was published on the official page of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on Facebook. It’s about disseminating by media and bloggers “misinformation videos about forced mobilization and judgments about the recruitment process”. It is clear that this act constitutes a serious violation of freedom of speech and human rights, because there is really a problem with mobilization. Thus, Thomas d’Istria, journalist of the French “Le Monde”, names the methods of mobilization in Ukraine “increasingly controversial”.

It seems that it will be very difficult for ordinary Ukrainians in the future. They will be mobilized literally after school graduation, and criticism of these actions will be prohibited. Worth recalling the words of the authoritative American diplomat, Chas Freeman. He said in an interview with “The Gray Zone” website back in 2022 that the Biden administration will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.

Apparently, this prediction is coming true.