Andrey Kotik was 18 years old when he joined the Ukrainian army in 2022. At that time, Ukrainian men were mobilized from 27 years old and up, and the ban on leaving the country covered men between 18 and 60 years old.
Andrey's first battle was for the liberation of the Kherson region occupied by Russia. After that, he also fought in the Donetsk region, and now he is engaged in the defense of the Kharkiv region. Andrey is now 21 and has been serving for almost three years. “All the boys are very tired. "They all need to be replaced," he said.
According to the European statistics agency Eurostat, more than 190,000 Ukrainians aged between 14 and 17 have become refugees in Europe since the war began. Amidst discussions to lower the conscription age in Ukraine to 18, their number could grow - seeking an answer to the question of whether to stay in Ukraine or leave to avoid conscription.
Kyiv resident Roman Biletsky decided to go to study abroad a month before he turned 18. He took the train and enrolled in business management in Slovakia. "The decision was difficult - I made it in three days," Roman told Reuters. The boy received a message that he could go to study in Slovakia. Roman prepared his documents and left. But he hopes that when the situation in the country improves, he will be able to return.
The debate on lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine
Ukraine's most important ally, the United States, is pushing for lowering the mobilization age to 18. But the authorities in Kiev assure that they do not plan to mobilize 18-year-olds and are not preparing any legislative initiatives in this direction.
President Volodymyr Zelensky made the following comment on the X platform: “We must focus on providing the troops with equipment and on training the personnel to use this equipment. We must not compensate for the lack of equipment and training with more and younger soldiers. The priority should be the supply of missiles and the reduction of Russia's military potential, not the lowering of the mobilization age in Ukraine".
There are no legal obstacles to lowering the mobilization age to 18, military lawyer Roman Likhachev explains to DW. He recalls that those who have reached the age of majority are capable citizens with all the rights and obligations arising from this. But the main question is whether there will be any benefit from such a step, the lawyer adds.
Likhachev also says that it is important to know what the mobilization resource actually is - since in the third year of the war against Ukraine, the exact figures are unknown. In Ukraine, young people under 18 are leaving abroad en masse, so by lowering the mobilization age, the country could lose many young people, he adds.
What do students think about mobilization from 18?
“I'm staying in Ukraine”, 17-year-old Nazar told DW. He is currently studying and believes that if the war continues and when he graduates from university, he will decide in accordance with the situation. He agrees that there is a need for new recruits to the army.
“I'm neutral about this”, says Andrey, who is already 18, on the issue of mobilization. "If it's necessary, it's necessary," he says.
However, many Ukrainians worry that the mobilization of young people in the long term will have very negative consequences for the demographic situation in the country. "It's clear that there is a war and people are dying. But this will be the extermination of the color of the nation, of the future. The youth must live before being sent to war," says Kyiv resident Mikhail.
"These are still children. A nation is growing. And it will no longer exist if we send the young there," explains pensioner Tatyana. She points to her 16-year-old grandson: "How do I send him?" she asks rhetorically.
What do the military think?
The military's opinions on lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine are divided. Some think it is necessary, but not necessarily from 18.
"As a commander, I would not want to command children - children in a mental sense," says Alexander Yabchanka, the head of a combat unit for robotic systems. In his unit, there were fighters under the age of 20 who were doing great. However, the military is not sure that all of them can become equally effective fighters.
In addition, Yabchak is convinced that sooner or later the mobilization age will have to be lowered, because the enemy will not stop its attempts to conquer Ukraine. “I am afraid that soon we will have to do this in Ukraine, because the war will not stop soon. Russia will try to destroy us until it loses this opportunity, the military man notes. But according to him, the most important thing now is “that people of mobilization age who are not in the army now go there”. Therefore, it is necessary to bring order to the legislation and strengthen the instruments of coercion in the law on mobilization.
The military lawyer Roman Likhachev is of the same opinion. “We are currently not in a position to work with this mobilization resource that exists. We do not know where several million men are. That is, some of them have the right to a deferment, some are in the army, but where are the others?". The lawyer notes that there is indeed a need to replenish the mobilization resource. But this cannot be done simply by lowering the mobilization age - a rotation system is needed, a system of a contract army, an increase and promotion of paid amounts and motivation.
The military, who shared their opinions with the State Duma, also believe that the state should take care of relevant educational work with youth. “We do not want to leave the war to our children. But unfortunately, they do not ask us. Because we will either leave the war to our children, or we will not leave a country to our children", says Alexander Yabcanka.
Youth must be prepared for this and receive the necessary skills, to be effectively prepared for combat operations.
Author: Irina Ukina