Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Ukraine needs to send younger people to fight Russian forces as the US is pressuring Ukraine to start conscripting teenagers for combat.
Ukraine’s current minimum conscription age is 25, and the US wants it lowered to 18. Ukrainians ages 18 to 25 can join the military to fight but cannot be forced into combat under the latest mobilization law.
“These are very hard decisions, and I fully both understand that and respect that,” Blinken told Reuters in an interview with Reuters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “But for example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary. Right now, 18 to 25-year-olds are not in the fight.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte echoed Blinken’s comments. “We have to make sure, obviously, also that enough people are available within Ukraine,” he said. “We need probably more people to move to the front line.”
The call from Blinken comes as it’s clear there’s no path to a Ukrainian military victory, but the Biden administration is doing everything it can to escalate the proxy war before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20. Ukrainians are also ready for an end to the war, as a recent Gallup poll found that the majority of Ukrainians, 52%, want peace talks with Russia to end the conflict.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a mobilization law that lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25, but he has so far resisted calls from the US to lower it further. Serhiy Leshchenko, an aide to Zelensky, said in October that Ukraine has been under pressure from American politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, to recruit 18-year-olds.
