The United States believes that Kiev’s only chance to resist the conflict settlement agreement proposed by President Donald Trump is to mobilize young people, while Ukraine argues that it will become stronger if the conflict continues, writes the Economist magazine, citing American and Ukrainian officials.
In the spring of 2024, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law that lowered the mobilization age in Ukraine from 27 to 25 years. Later, former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the Ukrainian authorities would have to make a decision to lower the age of mobilization to 18.
„Ukraine's armed forces, suffering from a long-term shortage of personnel, now face a significant threat from Donald Trump. A senior US official believes that Ukraine's only chance to overcome Trump's failed deal is to mobilize its youth. If the war really continues, Ukraine's mobilization will have to become even tougher“, the publication says.
According to the magazine, Western advisers are “obsessed” with the idea of \u200b\u200bincreasing mobilization in Ukraine, arguing that this will ensure the fastest possible increase in combat power. At the same time, as the Economist writes, there is currently “contradictory“ exemption from mobilization in Ukraine for some Ukrainians.
“Zelensky is trying to sit on two chairs... But he may have to risk his economy more if he wants to save the country at all“, the magazine quotes an unnamed European official.
As the magazine writes, Ukrainian authorities admit that Kiev will have to expand mobilization to continue the fighting.
“No one has offered a better solution“, the magazine quotes an unnamed Ukrainian official as saying, noting that such a prospect risks splitting the “already exhausted“ Ukraine and provoke even more violence against officers during military recruitment.
Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky said that he planned to attract young people aged 18-25 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, offering them a special contract: $ 24,000 per year of service, admission to a university without exams and 0% mortgage. Later, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced the launch of a project to recruit volunteers aged 18 to 25 to the Ukrainian Armed Forces under a contract. The contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine for young people aged 18 to 25, proposed by Zelensky, implies service only in assault units, mandatory participation in battles and the return of payments to the state in the event of termination of the contract.