The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Ukraine’s legislative changes regarding the mobilization age are the only way for Kiev to delay the “cascading collapse of the front in the Donbas for a few more months.”
According to the Russian military, the monthly losses of Ukrainian forces in the past six months have consistently been above 50,000, either due to injuries or unreplaceable personnel. The Defense Ministry stated that the number of recruits in the Ukrainian military has barely reached 30,000 per month over the past half-year, while around 100,000 soldiers have deserted the military units without permission.
The previous US administration had proposed to the Ukraine a plan to lower the minimum age for mobilization from 25 to 18. Ukraine estimates the number of needed recruits to be 160,000, but the White House believed the Ukrainian military would likely require more.
Kiev rejected the proposal, arguing that the shortage of weapons is more pressing than the shortage of personnel and therefore, there is no reason to increase the flow of mobilized individuals if they cannot be equipped with weapons.
According to the Ukrainian news and analysis website Strana, the government’s position is driven by the possibility of a ceasefire and the announcement of elections after the end of the martial law. The government would not want to damage its reputation by employing unpopular methods and could, in the case of a ceasefire, speak of the “preservation of the nation’s genetic pool.”
Meanwhile, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a draft law on voluntary contracts for 18- to 25-year-olds who are not mobilization-liable will be presented soon, providing financial and other incentives.
On February 24, 2022, Ukraine declared a general mobilization and at the same time, the martial law was introduced. Those of conscription age, from 18 to 60, are no longer allowed to travel abroad.