By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv, Jan 17 (EFE).- The insistence by the United States that Ukraine should decrease its mobilization age from 25 to 18 meets with little enthusiasm in the invaded country, which focuses on other ways to deal with its shortages in infantry and sees more modern weapons (not the number of soldiers) as key to prevailing over a bigger opponent.
The next US presidential istration will ask Ukraine to lower the threshold for obligatory mobilization, Mike Waltz, chosen by Donald Trump as his national security advisor, suggested in a recent interview.
While Ukraine acknowledges the growing shortage of soldiers in its infantry, many believe that forcibly recruiting younger men could prove deeply unpopular and fail to solve the underlying reasons for its mobilization struggles.
No simple solution
“Lowering a draft age is a simplistic and ineffective solution to a very complex problem,” Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst at Information Resistance Group, underlined to EFE.
He argued that Ukraine is far from exhausting its mobilization reserve among the men aged 25-60, with several million men still available to the army, which currently has 880,000 soldiers.
Although younger recruits could strengthen the army, the key is to encourage them to voluntarily by making military service more attractive for everyone, Oleksiy Melnyk, a former aide of Ukraine’s minister of Defense, told EFE.
While correctly identifying the problem, the US offers a wrong solution, Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian writer and former infantry soldier, also underlined.
“We can win only with quality, motivation, and weapons. And not with numbers – the Russians will always have more soldiers,” he wrote on X.
A complex problem
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who opposes lowering the draft age, underlined recently that what Ukraine needs above all is more weapons to equip its existing military units.
Constant delays by the country’s partners and their hesitancy in ing Ukraine with modern weapons have degraded the morale of Ukrainians and suppressed their willingness to enlist, writes “Tatarigami,” founder of “Frontelligence Insight” military think-tank.
However, waiting for enough Western weapons, many of which never arrive, is no solution, he stressed.
Ukraine has been reasg thousands of soldiers from non-infantry roles and units, such as its Air Forces, to infantry to contain Russian pressure.
According to “Tatarigami,” this wastes valuable specialists and undermines the ongoing effort to attract more recruits by giving them control over their role in the army.
The military draft is also increasingly seen as unfair, with wealthy and well-connected people often avoiding it, making others less likely to too, “Tatarigami” noted.
Positive stimuli
Deeper reforms are needed to prove to potential soldiers that their lives are valued in the army and to reverse the trend, he underlined.
This includes a thorough reorganization of military command, better training for new recruits, and better protection of their rights during service and in case of injury.
Those in the infantry should also receive better perks, including fixed of military service and guaranteed demobilization upon its completion, “Tatarigami” argued.
The government is also considering the implementation of a g bonus equal to some 1,200 euros (1,235 dollars) and an increase in salaries, which range from 500 euros (514 dollars) to 3,000 euros (3,089 dollars) by a further 250 euros (257 dollars) – although a lack of funds remains a worry.
Things can improve
Despite the difficulties, Ukraine has so far avoided a major breakthrough by the enemy while defending an immense 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) frontline, Melnyk said.
The mobilization struggles do not mean that Ukrainians are not willing to fight for their independence, “Tatarigami” underlined, noting that no country in a similar situation could rely only on volunteers.
He pointed out that unlike Russia, which often relies on violence, Ukraine is a democracy and tries to work within legal boundaries. However, its laws are neither ready for wartime nor properly enforced.
Anton Grushetskyi, director of Kyiv International Institute of Sociology stressed to EFE that most still agree that mobilization is justified and necessary.
Making it fairer and getting more from allies could encourage more people to sign up, he said. EFE
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