"Ukraine won't offset indecision with young troops on the front," Zelensky's team responds to the U.S. call to lower the conscription age.

This was reported by Litvin.

Zelensky's advisor criticized that the promised weaponry is not arriving on time, and due to these delays, Ukraine is facing a shortage of arms.

He emphasized that partners have full access to the data and can “compare promises with actual fulfillment.”

“One cannot expect Ukraine to compensate for delays in logistics or indecision in support with young men on the front lines,” Litvin stressed.

What preceded this?

According to a source from the Associated Press, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is urging Ukraine to lower the conscription age to 18 to quickly increase its army size.

European officials, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also hearing concerns from allies in other Western countries regarding the fact that Ukraine “has a problem with troop numbers, not with armament.”

Previously, Zelensky assured that Ukraine does not plan to lower the conscription age, despite the fact that the country’s partners would prefer such a decision. According to him, this is dangerous right now.

Reduction of the conscription age

On April 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law to reduce the maximum age for citizens on military registration from 27 to 25 years. The parliament adopted it back in 2023.

These legislative changes to reduce the maximum age for citizens on military registration were jointly developed by the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

They explained that during the period of martial law, there is no need for citizens to remain on military registration until the age of 27. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that lowering the conscription age is necessary because young people have better physical fitness and can adapt more quickly to technologies widely used in combat operations.

Meanwhile, MP and Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Roman Kostenko stated that the level of mobilization in Ukraine has decreased after several months of the relevant law being in effect, and therefore “radical” measures need to be taken — for example, lowering the conscription age.