U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz has suggested that Ukraine's draft age should be lowered to 18. He made the remarks in an interview with ABC News.
According to Waltz, such a decision could help stabilize the situation on the frontline, as Ukraine has "real problems with human resources." He noted that this would allow for the recruitment of "hundreds of thousands of new soldiers."
"So when we hear about morale issues, when we hear about problems on the frontline, look, if the Ukrainians asked the whole world to be completely pro-democracy, we need them to be completely pro-democracy," he said.
At the same time, Waltz stressed that the Ukrainians are "certainly, fighting bravely" and "taking a very noble and tough stance."
"But we have to see the problem of a shortage of manpower. It's not just weapons, ammunition or additional funds. It's about stabilizing the front line so that we can make some kind of deal,” the adviser added.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on December 5, the former commander of U.S. 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 there were no legislative initiatives in the Verkhovna Rada to lower the draft age.
In early December, The Washington Post reported that American officials were allegedly disappointed by the Ukrainian authorities' reluctance to begin mobilizing 18-year-old citizens.
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