Zelensky lowers conscription age to 25

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY signed a bill yesterday to lower the mobilisation age for combat duty from 27 to 25.

The move should help Ukraine generate more fighting power in its war with Russia.

The bill had been on the Ukrainian president’s table since it was approved by lawmakers in May 2023. It was not immediately clear what prompted him to sign it. Parliament has been discussing a separate bill to broadly tighten draft rules for months.

The move expands the number of civilians the army can mobilise into its ranks to fight under martial law, which has been in place since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing a shortage of ammunition supplies with vital funding from the US blocked by Republicans in Congress for months and the European Union failing to deliver promised ammunition on time.

The signing of the legislation was not immediately announced by the president’s office. Parliament merely updated the entry for the bill on its website to read: “Returned with the signature of the president of Ukraine”.

Mr Zelensky said last winter that he would only sign the bill if he was given a strong enough argument.

The Ukrainian leader said in December that the military had proposed mobilising up to 500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces, something for which the previous commander-in-chief had asked.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, the new head of the Ukrainian armed forces, said last week that the figure was no longer up-to-date and that it had been “significantly reduced” after a review resources.

Mr Zelensky also signed two other bills. One requiring men who had been given waivers from military service on disability grounds to have another medical assessment. And another to create an online database of people eligible for military service. Both could help the military draft more fighters.

A string of strict measures set out in an earlier draft bill were cut after a public outcry.

Mr Zelensky has warned that Russia may plan another offensive later this spring or in summer, and Kyiv’s troops have been scaling up their efforts to build up strong defensive fortifications along a sprawling front line.

Ukraine has faced a significant reduction in the flow of volunteer fighters and numerous cases of draft evasion have been reported.