Ukraine needs to lower draft age as it lacks manpower – US National Security adviser
Pravda Ukraine
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has stated that the shortage of manpower in the Ukrainian army remains a pressing issue, despite significant military assistance from the West.
Source: Sullivan in an interview with Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Sullivan noted that Ukraine has reduced the draft age from 27 to 25 but added that the issue of manpower resources in the Ukrainian military has evolved over time.
“It [manpower issue] has become more acute over the course of the past year. And the need for Ukraine to be able to fully populate its brigades and battalions, as we have flowed in a massive quantity of the munitions and military equipment they need, has grown,” Sullivan said.
He acknowledged that this issue had also been communicated to Donald Trump’s new team.
Quote: “But we have been crystal clear, including publicly, that manpower is an acute concern and it’s something that Ukraine will have to address, even as we do our part to get them the munitions that they need.”
Details: Meanwhile, Sullivan emphasised that this is “a sovereign decision Ukraine is going to have to make”.
Background:
- Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, believes that Ukraine should lower the draft age in order to bring in hundreds of thousands of new troops and stabilise the front line.
- Last year, both public and private appeals were made by the US for Ukraine to reduce the draft age to 18, arguing that the shortage of personnel at the front is becoming critical, allowing Russia to advance in the east.
- According to media reports, the disputes over the number of troops mobilised and the age of mobilisation led to tensions between the Ukrainian and US presidents.
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