Ukraine faces pressure from US to lower military draft age

Ukraine is under increasing pressure from both the current and incoming US administrations to address its military manpower shortage by lowering the conscription age. The White House national security advisor claimed the US has supplied a “massive quantity” of weapons and munitions, highlighting the need to staff underpopulated existing military units.

The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly complained about long delays in the delivery of pledged weapons and ammunition, leading to significant shortages in the frontline brigades amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Meanwhile, the demographic gap among men aged 18–25 in Ukraine suggests that sacrificing this age group, as the US advocates, could have severe long-term consequences for the country’s future demographics.

In an interview with Bloomberg on 13 January, current US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized that Ukraine’s military personnel deficit has become increasingly problematic.

“The manpower issue in Ukraine is an issue that has evolved over time. It has become more acute over the course of the past year,” Sullivan told Bloomberg.

Sullivan detailed recent changes in Ukraine’s recruitment policies, noting that the country had already adjusted its conscription age.

“Their conscription as of a year ago was 27, […] they lowered it to 25. They’ve made a series of other changes to their law to facilitate people under the age of 25 entering,” Sullivan explained to Bloomberg.

The advisor emphasized that the personnel shortage impacts Ukraine’s ability to utilize Western military support effectively.

“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 per Bloomberg.

Sullican added:

“That’s ultimately a sovereign decision Ukraine is going to have to make, 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.”

Incoming Trump administration backs the idea

Previously, Donald Trump, who assumes the US presidency on 20 January, indicated his intention to quickly end Russia’s war on Ukraine, prompting concerns about possible terms that could favor Russia.

Michael Waltz, Trump’s designated national security adviser also pushed for more substantial changes to Ukraine’s recruitment policies.

“One of the things that we’ll be asking of the Ukrainians is — they have real manpower issues,” Waltz said on ABC’s This Week, adding, “Their draft age right now is 26 years old , not 18. I don’t think a lot of people realize that they could generate hundreds of thousands of new soldiers.“

Waltz’s stated current draft age contradicts Ukraine’s official policy, which set the conscription age at 25 in May 2023, not 26. His main argument focused on expanding the recruitment pool.

“It’s about seeing the frontlines stabilized, so that we can enter into some type of deal,” Waltz told ABC.

The Biden administration has aligned with this perspective, signaling support for lowering Ukraine’s conscription age to increase its battlefield personnel on several occasions before.

Why the US idea is dangerous for Ukraine’s future