Ukraine lowers army draft age to 25 to generate more fighting power
- Kyiv’s troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, with funding from the US blocked and the EU failing to deliver promised ammunition on time
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia may plan another offensive later this spring or in summer
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on Tuesday to lower the mobilisation age for combat duty from 27 to 25, a move that should help his country generate more fighting power in its war with Russia.
The bill had been on Zelensky’s table since it was approved by lawmakers in May 2023, and it was not immediately clear what prompted him to sign it. Parliament has been discussing a separate bill to broadly tighten draft rules for months.
The move expands the number of civilians the army can mobilise into its ranks to fight under martial law, which has been in place since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing a shortage of ammunition supplies with vital funding from the US blocked by Republicans in Congress for months and the European Union failing to deliver promised ammunition on time.
The signing of the legislation was not immediately announced by the president’s office. Parliament merely updated the entry for the bill on its website to read: “returned with the signature of the president of Ukraine”.
