It's no secret that the Biden administration has been pressuring Ukraine's Zelensky behind the scenes to drop the age of conscription down to 18 from the current age of 25. But now the White House is becoming much more direct and out in the open about it.
With less than 50 days to go of Biden in office, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Kiev to make "hard decisions" about expanding mobilization efforts to fight the Russians. He's urging that younger men be forced into the fight.
"Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary" Blinken stated in a NATO press conference on Wednesday. "Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight," he explained.
He emphasized that that manpower is critical "because even with the money, even with the munitions, there have to be people on the front lines." The Biden White House has been rushing as much arms to Ukraine forces as it can with little time left in the Democratic administration.
Blinken also stressed that NATO is seeking to ensure every soldier Ukraine mobilizes has "the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country."
Additionally, Reuters quoted the US top diplomat as saying it remains "up to the Ukrainian authorities to decide how best to get younger men into the fight."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte the same day echoed the US view in a press conference: "We need probably more people to move to the front line" - he said without specifying age groups.
As the outgoing Biden administration is asking Congress to soon approve billions more for Ukraine, this conscription age change policy could serve as the quid pro quo being requested of Kiev from Washington, in order to keep the billions in arms and aid flowing.
Last spring on one of his many visits to Ukraine, hawkish Senator Lindsey Graham expressed shock upon learning that men in their early 20s in Ukraine cannot be drafted. "I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe [conscription age starts] at 27," he said at the time. "You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27."
Butcher Blinken once again encourages Zelensky to lower the age of conscription, so that Ukraine fights Washington’s pointless, failed proxy war to the very last Ukrainian
— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 4, 2024
18-year-olds will be sent to die for Washington’s imperial games pic.twitter.com/Bfl6oDLBR8
When President Volodymyr Zelensky soon after this statement signed a bill into effect to lower the mobilization age for combat duty from 27 to 25, this took some of the pressure off for the time being.
But now the pressure is ramping up once again. If Zelensky pulls the trigger it would be hugely unpopular among Ukrainians, and could result in internal dissent and mass protests, even as the war rages in the east.
It’s no secret that the Biden administration has been pressuring Ukraine’s Zelensky behind the scenes to drop the age of conscription down to 18 from the current age of 25. But now the White House is becoming much more direct and out in the open about it.
With less than 50 days to go of Biden in office, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Kiev to make “hard decisions” about expanding mobilization efforts to fight the Russians. He’s urging that younger men be forced into the fight.
“Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary” Blinken stated in a NATO press conference on Wednesday. “Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight,” he explained.
He emphasized that that manpower is critical “because even with the money, even with the munitions, there have to be people on the front lines.” The Biden White House has been rushing as much arms to Ukraine forces as it can with little time left in the Democratic administration.
Blinken also stressed that NATO is seeking to ensure every soldier Ukraine mobilizes has “the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country.”
Additionally, Reuters quoted the US top diplomat as saying it remains “up to the Ukrainian authorities to decide how best to get younger men into the fight.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte the same day echoed the US view in a press conference: “We need probably more people to move to the front line” – he said without specifying age groups.
As the outgoing Biden administration is asking Congress to soon approve billions more for Ukraine, this conscription age change policy could serve as the quid pro quo being requested of Kiev from Washington, in order to keep the billions in arms and aid flowing.
Last spring on one of his many visits to Ukraine, hawkish Senator Lindsey Graham expressed shock upon learning that men in their early 20s in Ukraine cannot be drafted. “I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe [conscription age starts] at 27,” he said at the time. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.”
Butcher Blinken once again encourages Zelensky to lower the age of conscription, so that Ukraine fights Washington’s pointless, failed proxy war to the very last Ukrainian
18-year-olds will be sent to die for Washington’s imperial games pic.twitter.com/Bfl6oDLBR8
— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 4, 2024
When President Volodymyr Zelensky soon after this statement signed a bill into effect to lower the mobilization age for combat duty from 27 to 25, this took some of the pressure off for the time being.
But now the pressure is ramping up once again. If Zelensky pulls the trigger it would be hugely unpopular among Ukrainians, and could result in internal dissent and mass protests, even as the war rages in the east.
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