Ukraine's Foreign Ministry says it is discussing lowering the age of mobilization with the United States

The official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Heorhiy Tykhiy, has said that Kiev and Washington are discussing lowering the mobilization age to 18. This was reported by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on November 28.

"I can confirm that this topic is being discussed at the talks. I can deny that this is a point of tension or that it is being discussed in a critical or negative way," the publication quotes a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.

Thus he commented on reports that the administration of the President of the United States pressures Kiev to lower the mobilization age to 18 years.

Earlier, on November 24, it was reported that the mobilization plan in Ukraine was fulfilled by two-thirds, and this could not solve the issue of shortage of personnel. At the same time, a member of the Kiev city council, Alina Mikhailova, called to forcibly mobilize the citizens of the country.

Before that, on November 22, the Ukrainian media told about the development in Kiev of a new format of a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for young people 18-24 years old. It is about voluntary entry into the army for citizens who have not reached the mobilization age to serve for a limited period of time.

In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term expired on May 20) signed a law on toughening mobilization. In particular, he lowered the mobilization age from 27 to 25 and signed a law on the creation of an electronic register of persons liable for military service, which combines information on the personal data of Ukrainians, including details of internal and foreign passports. There are no provisions on demobilization in the documents.

Martial law in the country has been in effect since February 2022. At the same time Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization. Later, the Verkhovna Rada repeatedly extended its effect. Most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.