Lowering mobilization age for men not currently being considered - Umerov

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is currently not considering lowering the mobilization age for men under 25 years old.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has announced this, Babel reports.

The minister also reported that servicemen who came to the Armed Forces to serve under the "18-24" contract have proven themselves on the battlefield as trained defenders who show confident actions in battles.

"Contractors 18-24 have demonstrated high readiness and confident actions in battles. We saw them on the battlefield - and this is truly motivating. Their professionalism, endurance and strength of spirit have become another confirmation that the younger generation is able to effectively defend the state today," Umerov noted.

It is reported that the state is working on improving the motivational package and will offer even more incentives for young people who are going to sign a contract with the Armed Forces.

"This is a powerful human resource that should be supported and developed. And the state will do this by improving the project's motivational package," Umerov emphasized.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on December 5, the former commander of US forces in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, called the draft age in Ukraine "too high."

On December 8, a member of the Verkhovna Rada's National Security Committee, Fedir Venislavskyi, said that the Verkhovna Rada has no legislative initiatives to lower the draft age.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense clarified which military personnel aged 18-24 are entitled to a payment of UAH 1 million.