The Biden-Harris administration is reportedly urging Ukraine to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 in an effort to quickly raise it. size of its military force,
More than 1 million Ukrainians currently serve in military units, but the US believes its ally needs more than 160,000 additional troops to meet battlefield needs in its nearly three-year-old war with Russia. is required.
A senior Biden-Harris administration official said the Ukrainian military, which dramatically outnumbers Russian troops, would be able to significantly expand its pool of combat-age men if it lowered its mobility age. associated Press Wednesday.
The official said the “pure mathematics” of the current situation requires a larger pool of Ukrainian troops.
The official said that at the pace at which Ukraine is currently suffering battlefield losses and mobilizing and training new troops, the country is not keeping pace with Russia’s military.
The Kremlin recently deployed about 10,000 troops from North Korea to the conflict, increasing its troop numbers in Ukraine.
America has provided aid to Ukraine tens of billions of dollars of military aid Russia’s invasion in February 2022, but White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told The Associated Press that Ukraine’s “manpower is the most important need” at this time.
“Therefore, we are also ready to increase our training capacity if they take appropriate steps to fill their ranks,” he said.
The Ukrainian government passed legislation in April that lowered its draft age from 27 to 25 to expand the pool of available fighters.
Those laws, which also removed some draft exemptions, were expected to add about 50,000 troops to Ukraine’s ranks.
A senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that the country does not have enough equipment to arm new troops.
The official indicated that some in Ukraine see the push to lower the draft age as an attempt by the West to divert attention from delays in providing military firepower.
Ukrainians do not see the lower draft age as an option to counter Russia’s edge in equipment and weaponry, the official said.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
(Tags to translate) politics
