The issue of lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine was raised at meetings of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna with top officials of the European Union. This was reported by Stefanishyna to journalists in Brussels, UNN reports.
Details
Stefanishyna commented on whether EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius had raised the issue of lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine during their meetings with her.
This question seemed to be asked from the point of view of the fact that it does exist in the public discourse. But I am glad that this question is being asked, because we have a very obvious answer. We cannot accept this criticism because there is no system of planning, no system of training and equipping Ukrainian brigades
She emphasized that in conditions where there is no such planning on the part of the allies, this inability cannot be transferred to the mobilization age in Ukraine.
That's why we had this discussion, and I also see that the European Union can play a big role in training the Ukrainian military
She emphasized that lowering the mobilization age is not an acceptable position. When asked if Kallas and Kubilius understood her arguments, Stefanishyna replied: “Yes, of course.”
Context
The topic of lowering the mobilization age began to be raised in the media back in October. At that time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some partners proposed lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine, but there are no such plans at the moment, as it could be dangerous.
In November , the Associated Press quoted a Biden administration official as saying that the Biden administration is calling on Ukraine to change its mobilization law to allow conscription from the age of 18.
Commenting on the calls for lowering the mobilization age, presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn pointed out that due to delays in the supply of military aid from Western partners, Ukraine does not have enough weapons to supply the soldiers already mobilized.
Also in late November, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said that Ukraine had discussed lowering the mobilization age with its partners. However, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry cannot say that this topic was a subject of disagreement or tension during the negotiations.
On December 10, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine should not compensate for the lack of equipment and training with younger soldiers. The focus should be on supplying existing brigades.