In Ukraine, debates continue on the manner, but also the methods to be observed, to mobilize more soldiers in the ranks of the army. After two years of war, and losses of officially unknown numbers, but undoubtedly considerable, volunteers are necessarily much fewer in number than in 2022. In this context, on April 18, President Volodymyr Zelensky promulgated a law reforming mobilization. But will this be enough to bring new blood into the ranks of the army?
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From our correspondent in Ukraine,
The new legislation in Ukraine will make it possible to lower the minimum age threshold of mobilization, from 27 years to 25 years, and according to experts, this will mechanically make it possible to recruit 300,000 additional soldiers in the months to come. The average age of the Ukrainian army is relatively high, 43, and President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated in recent days that 25-year-old men were in better physical shape than forty-year-olds, but also that the army needed the intellectual and technological skills of the new generation.
Now, the Ukrainian state, which is a democracy and must respect individual rights, cannot enlist forcibly. Everything will be done gradually, but in the coming weeks, thousands of young men will receive conscript letters to the army.
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Encourage Ukrainians abroad to join the ranks
From now on, the authorities are forced to toughen up their tone and tighten the screws. This Monday, for example, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed its embassies to suspend all consular assistance for its nationals, aged 18 to 60, who are abroad.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, it is not normal, and right, for these men to be taken care of by the consulates even though they have left or remained abroad, showing “ that they did not care about the survival of the Ukrainian state “.
This is to encourage tens of thousands of Ukrainians abroad to return to the country to serve under the flags, but also a signal to all those who would like to escape their responsibilities.
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Little enthusiasm and a lot of resignation
In general, the motivation of Ukrainians to go under the flags has obviously decreased, because the men and women who had the fierce will to fight signed up in 2022 to defend the homeland in danger, and join the army today it is the prospect of finding yourself in the trenches, with the possibility of not coming back.
Nevertheless, many men of all ages, without enthusiasm, sometimes with great resignation, mentally prepare to take up arms, out of a sense of duty and out of consideration for those who have already sacrificed themselves.
Moreover, this week, Colonel Oleksandr Pivnenko, a head of the National Guard, said he expected a strong mobilization and a wave of volunteers if Russian pressure intensifies. According to him, this is how Ukrainian society is organized. The stronger the external pressure, the more it reacts to danger, mobilizes and demonstrates unity.
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