MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. The Ukrainian government has lowered the minimum mobilization age from 27 to 25 simply for the sake of getting more US money as soon as possible even as passage of a comprehensive bill to introduce tougher mobilization rules remains stalled in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), opposition Rada member Alexander Dubinsky said.
"The decision of [Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky] to sign laws on lowering the draft age, on the elimination of the term 'restricted suitability [for military service]' and the electronic list of persons liable for military service indicates that disputes around the draft law on mobilization will continue for a long time. Meanwhile, it is necessary to show at least something in the US Congress under the guise of a plan to increase the number of conscripts for whom money will be given," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Verkhovna Rada has been unable to pass a new law on mobilization in Ukraine since December 2023. Against this background, problems in the staffing of Ukraine’s armed forces have already been raised by US politicians involved in decision-making on allocating more aid for Ukraine. US Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina, designated a terrorist and extremist in Russia), who visited Kiev in March, criticized what he deemed the high mobilization age.
On April 2, Zelensky signed a number of laws on military service that lower the mobilization age from 27 to 25, eliminate the "restricted suitability" category for the military draft, and set rules for the operation of an electronic cabinet that may be used to send out electronic military draft orders in the future. The US Congress is expected to resume deliberations on the issue of allocating further aid to Ukraine after April 8, when the lawmakers’ Easter recess ends. The Verkhovna Rada will not have enough time to pass the general mobilization law by this date.