Biden pressures Ukraine to draft younger people and increase troop numbers

The White House is pressuring Ukraine to change its mobilization laws and draft more troops to increase the size of its military, an official source told AP News.

The official, who spoke anonymously to disclose private consultations, said that the Biden Administration is pushing Zelensky to allow the conscription of 18-year-olds, down from 25.

According to AP News, Ukraine has been increasingly outnumbered by the Russian military throughout three years of conflict, which can be very dangerous as the war conditions change.

The “pure math” is that Ukraine needs more troops now, they told the news agency. The country does not have enough soldiers to replace battlefield losses and keep pace.

The request also comes in preparation for what will be a complex stage of the war for Ukraine, with reduced support from its allies and the prospect of losing territory to the Russians.

The news agency said that Ukraine’s European allies are also concerned that the shortages will make the operation in Russia’s Kursk border region unstable.

Russian ranks have grown significantly, despite sustaining severely significant losses, since North Korea provided troop support to the Kremlin.

Still, both countries have faced troop shortages as the war extends. Zelensky said the Ukrainian military is short of 160,000 soldiers, the AP reported.

That is why the country has already changed conscription laws to reduce the drafting age from 27 to 25 in April. Still, the laws provide narrow criteria for recruitment.

The new law only increased the ranks by 50,000 people, AP News said. Less than a third of what President Zelensky said was necessary.

US officials have signaled that the country has enough other resources (equipment, weapons, and freedom to use them) and that the allies are ready to help train more troops.

“Manpower is the most vital need,” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement collected by the news agency.

Many of Ukraine’s allies have shifted their focus from equipment and weapons to troops, suggesting that Ukraine has enough material resources but not enough hands to use them.

The Ukrainian government has accused the allies of using troop numbers as a diversion to shift focus from equipment and weaponry delays.

According to AP News, the officials don’t see growing troop numbers as a valid counteroffensive to Russia’s advantage in equipment and weaponry.

However, the focus shift might also be a way to prepare Ukrainian officials for a scarce future as President-elect Trump, who has signaled he will stop sending resources, takes office.

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