“What is happening is very simple: Ukraine is not currently mobilizing and training enough troops to both replace its combat losses and keep pace with Russia's growing military numbers.” The observation made by a senior American official cited by the Financial Times is relentless. If Ukraine wants to resist the advance of Russian troops and its allies, it will have to recruit more soldiers.
SO, the United States is asking Ukrainians to lower the conscription age to 18, compared to 25 today. Ukraine is currently opposing the American request, due to “demographic challenges facing the country” and which raise fears for its future. In September, Ukrainian authorities counted 80,000 soldiers dead and 400,000 wounded.
But time is running out because, “over the past few months, Russian troops have advanced at the fastest pace since the first weeks of the invasion, in 2022,” recalls the British daily.And Ukrainian troops are struggling to contain enemy breakthroughs.
“Ukraine has said it needs 160,000 troops to fill its ranks, which the United States considers a bare minimum estimate,” continues the official.
On the Ukrainian side, the blame for military setbacks is placed on the West and their delays in arms deliveries. “Ukraine cannot be expected to compensate for the logistical delays and hesitations of its allies in terms of military support with the youth of the men sent to the front,” said Dmytro Lytvyn, the Ukrainian president's top communications adviser.
Race against time
If the Biden administration has so far been very conciliatory with kyiv's requests, even going so far as to authorize the Ukrainians to launch ballistic missiles on Russian territory, the Ukrainian general staff is asking for even more.
Thursday, November 28, Russia announced that it had fired 90 missiles into Ukrainian territory. A large-scale attack, which the Kremlin indicated that it had carried out in response to the firing of American ATACMS missiles on its territory.
This new escalation of the conflict makes the recruitment of new soldiers more urgent than ever for the Ukrainian army. And the American request to lower the age of mobilization comes at a time when “The Biden administration is racing against time to get $7 billion in equipment and munitions to kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January,” still indicates the Financial Times.
Donald Trump promised to end the conflict. On Wednesday, November 27, he appointed Keith Kellogg as envoy for Russia and Ukraine. He is a former general in the American army who spoke out in favor of a negotiated peace between the two belligerents, which could prove unfavorable to Ukraine.
