Ukraine draft law proposes lowering mobilisation age to 25 from 27
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Ukraine’s troop numbers are not known, but in the past it has been said the country has around one million people under arms.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV - Text of a draft law posted on the website of Ukraine’s Parliament late on Dec 25 proposed lowering the age of those who can be mobilised for combat duty to 25 from 27.
The proposed change comes as Ukraine’s 22-month-old battle against Russia drags on.
On Dec 24, Ukraine and Russia exchanged claims over downed military aircraft, and on Dec 25, Ukraine denied Russia’s claim that its forces had seized the regional centre Maryinka
The draft text detailed which Ukrainian citizens would be subject to enrolment for military registration of conscripts and said it would apply to those “who have reached the age of 25”.
An explanatory note signed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov summarised key provisions of the draft law, saying they included the “change of conscription age from 27 to 25 years”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told his end-of-year news conference on Dec 19 that the military had proposed mobilising 450,000 to 500,000 more Ukrainians
Mr Zelensky, who has yet to back the proposal publicly, said on Dec 19 that he wanted to hear more arguments for mobilising additional people. “This is a very serious number,” he said.
Ukraine’s troop numbers are not known, but in the past it has been said the country has around one million people under arms.
United States officials estimate hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine
Mr David Arakhamia, the head of Mr Zelensky’s party in Parliament, said the government was working on the Bill at the request of the military and that it was due to be introduced on Dec 25.
“The military needs a solution to its problems,” he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app earlier on Dec 25. “Society wants to hear answers to all sensitive questions.” REUTERS
