The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, Vitali Klitschko, is sounding the alarm over the number of soldiers the country can retain as it fights to stave off Russian forces.
Klitschko said Ukraine is having “huge problems” finding enough soldiers to defend the country, as Ukrainians flee west from the war-torn region to Europe. Klitschko suggested the government should lower the age at which citizens can be enlisted in the country’s army from 25.
“In the past, 18-year-olds served in the army — but those are kids,” Klitschko said. “Right now, you can only be mobilized in Ukraine from age 25. You could lower it by a year or two — to 23 or 22.”
He made the comments in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, telling the network that Russian soldiers “just keep coming, they don’t care about fallen soldiers,” according to Politico.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in April 2024 to boost the country’s soldier numbers. In December 2024, Zelensky cautioned against cries in the media to lower the draft age further. In July, Zelensky signed a law allowing citizens over 60 to enlist.
As many Ukrainians flee their home country for Western Europe for asylum from the war, the country’s manpower continues to dwindle.
The Ukrainian government made way for 18 to 22-year-olds to flee the country several months ago, with the goal of having children stay through their education instead of leaving with their parents. The order also allowed the young adults to pass back through the border freely when they wish to return.
“If we want to keep boys in Ukraine, we really need them to finish school here first and for their parents not to take them away,” Zelensky said in a press conference.
THE BATTLE FOR POKROVSK: KEY UKRAINIAN CITY IN DANGER OF FALLING TO RUSSIA
Klitschko said in the interview that for young people to return to Ukraine, the country needs “peace, jobs, and a good quality of life.” He also likened Russia’s attacks to “a computer game.”
As the war wages on, Russia has taken about 90% of the battleground Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a fall which would be a huge boon to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
