Zelenskyy explains why he signed law lowering conscription age – video
Ukraine needs young soldiers who are in better physical shape and are familiar with technology, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in response to a journalist's question about why the conscription age has been lowered from 27 to 25 in Ukraine.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with journalist Hugo Décrypte on 22 April
Quote: "We need to form brigades to replace those that have been at the front for two years. For this to happen, and for them to be an adequate replacement, people must be trained and be in good physical condition. With all due respect to our soldiers, we are saying that there is a difference between a 25-year-old soldier and a 50-year-old soldier. And that is a fact. Different fronts present different challenges, different warfare and different technologies."
Details: Zelenskyy also said Ukraine needs young people on the battlefield today because the younger generation is better and much faster at navigating technology.
"In any case, we need to understand that the new generation is tech-savvy. They understand it, they created it all with their own hands. Their brains created it."
Background:
- On 30 May 2023, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favour of a bill that lowers the age limit for conscripts from 27 to 25.
- The Ministry of Defence had developed the proposals to reduce the minimum age of conscription in early May. The ministry explained that if conscripts are on the military register for a lengthy period during martial law, this means that a significant number of citizens fit for military service who do not have the appropriate status cannot be conscripted into military service through mobilisation.
- On 5 May, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the bill On Military Duty and Military Service, reducing the age limit for conscripts on the military register from 27 to 25.
- On 2 April 2024, President Zelenskyy signed the bill into law.
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