Joe Biden’s outgoing administration want Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to remove his objections to conscripting the country’s youth.
They atre urging Ukraine to lower the country’s conscription age to 18, in a desperate bid to increase its military ranks, accprding to a report by the Associated Press (AP).
RT reports: A senior US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the news agency that the White House believes the move is essential in order to bolster Kiev’s fighting capabilities.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has previous pledged not to force his country’s youngest adult men to enlist.
“The pure math is that Ukraine needs more troops,” the official told the agency. “We are talking about increasing the pool of fighting-age men to sustain the fight.”
Ukraine’s lowest conscription age is currently set at 25, but the Biden administration believes lowering the age to 18 will help meet the urgent need for soldiers, the agency added. According to the source, Ukraine has indicated it needs at least 160,000 more troops, but the US government estimates that even this number may not be enough.
More than one million Ukrainians are already enlisted in uniform, including in the National Guard and other units. However, American officials have warned that the existing manpower is not enough to fend off Russia’s increasing military pressure, particularly in areas like the Kursk border region, which Ukraine invaded earlier this year.
The Biden administration has committed over $56 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. The senior official told the agency however that Ukraine has the necessary weaponry and now needs to prioritize increasing its troop numbers.