In a bid to reinforce their armed forces amidst the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine has lowered the age of military conscription from 27 to 25. The bill delineating the said change was signed by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky after being passed by the country’s parliament. The modification in the law will likely see an expansion in the number of citizens who can be called up to serve under martial law.
This news comes in the wake of a contentious debate surrounding the conscription age and how best the country can respond to escalating Russian military pressure. Scheduled to a press meeting with the Finnish president, the Ukrainian president made a brief comment about this change, albeit without providing any insight into the delay in approving the bill.
A more expansive and disputed bill is presently under consideration in parliament. This mobilization bill, distinct from the one signed by Zelensky, goes one step further by proposing to limit available exemptions to military service and restrict deferments for students and caregivers. Critics, like the Commissioner for Human Rights within the Ukrainian Parliament, suggest that said bill could potentially contradict the country’s constitution, a concern also expressed publicly.
According to the Ukrainian president, he’d received proposals from the military to mobilize up to 500,000 additional citizens into the armed forces in December 2023. Nonetheless, Zelensky asserted that any decision on troop expansion will hinge on a “question of people,” and a “question of fairness.”
Since Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been under martial law, facing challenges concerning manpower renewal due to enormous numbers of potential recruits being injured, killed or fulfilling other vital roles. Zelensky revealed a sobering statistic in February, stating that upwards of 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have perished ever since the clash initiated.
On a related note, Russian armed forces, along with their President Vladimir Putin, have been at the receiving end of persistent allegations of war crimes, particularly regarding potential breaches of international law during the conflict. The Prosecutor General from Ukraine announced in February that they were looking into over 120,000 purported war crimes committed by Russia during the war.