MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine will offer military-service contracts to people aged 18 to 24 in order to make up for losses in its troops.
"Combat brigades, experienced ones, together with the Ministry of Defense ... have been working on a contract option for young people aged 18 to 24. This is for those who want to join up, it is not a mobilization," he told Reuters. "There is a special contract, there will be many benefits ... there is also a very high monetary provision. Details will be made public soon, in the coming days."
Zelensky didn’t say how many men are expected to join under such contracts. On February 2 he described Ukrainian losses as huge.
The issue of whether to lower the mobilization age to 18 years comes into public focus increasingly often in Ukraine. It is something that the US is pushing for. According to Ukrainian lawmaker Artyom Dmytruk, who left the country, a bill concerning the matter has already been drafted. He said Zelensky's office has been raising the subject in the media to test public feedback.
Currently, men from 25 to 60 years of age are subject to mobilization in Ukraine. That is after the minimum age for mobilization was lowered from 27 years starting from April 2024. Even so, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to face a shortage of personnel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a move to lower the mobilization age in Ukraine to 18 years would constitute a crime. However, even if Kiev makes the move, it won’t change the situation on the battlefield, according to Putin.