Ukraine’s soldiers have fended off Russia’s invasion for over two years. The fight has left them exhausted. To keep up the effort, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a difficult decision. This week, he lowered the military conscription age for men from 27 to 25.
Russia will likely make another big push in spring or summer. Its military boasts a recent surge of enlistments. In March, gunmen attacked a concert hall in Russia’s capital, killing more than 140 people. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Russian propaganda pinned the blame on Ukraine. The military says that angry Russians want to fight.
Zelenskyy signed three new laws to replenish Ukraine’s weary military. These laws include the lower conscription age. The new rule could yield 50,000 new troops. But Zelenskyy hasn’t said exactly how many new fighters the country will need.
“I can say that Russia is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 military personnel on June 1,” says Zelenskyy.
When a man is conscripted, or “drafted,” he must join the military—whether he wants to or not. The United States had a similar draft during the Vietnam War. This may seem like a harsh law. But Zelenskyy sees the war against Russia as a matter of life or death for his nation. Without soldiers to defend Ukraine, there may be no Ukraine to defend.
Some Ukrainians worry the lower draft age will hurt their economy. When more men leave for the front, there are fewer people to work other jobs in the country.
Others oppose the new law for reasons closer to home. Antonina Piliuhina lives in the country’s capital, Kyiv. She’s 49 years old, and she has a 21-year-old son. If the war drags on, the lower draft age could affect her son in a few years.
“I have just one son,” she says. “What did I raise him for all these years, for him to be taken away and then killed by someone for fun?”
But some Ukrainians support the lower draft age. They see the need for fresh recruits. One soldier, who uses the name “Metelya” for security reasons, has been fighting since 2014. That’s the year Russia took Crimea from Ukraine.
“If an 18-years-old boy was ready to fight with us when we fought for Kyiv, then why can’t a 25-years-old adult man do the same?” asks 37-year-old Metelya.
Some experts say Ukraine is now fighting a war of attrition. Such wars aren’t determined quickly by overwhelming force. Instead, wars of attrition drag out, often for years. They become contests of resources. Which side will wear out first?
Ukraine’s new law aims to keep its troops energized while leaving enough men at home to drive the economy. But Russia has a population three times the size of Ukraine’s. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has no problem forcing people to fight.
Pray for those who are caught up in the war and for those who have lost loved ones.
