Ukraine's Western allies are not imposing new sanctions on Russia in part because of Kyiv's refusal to lower the mobilization age to 18, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Valasz Online published on June 10.
With the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine updated its mobilization legislation and lowered the minimum age for compulsory military service from 27 to 25.
Yet, some partners, including the U.S., still criticize Kyiv for setting the age threshold too high.
"I do not believe that we should mobilize people from the age of 18, as the leaders of other countries have thought," Zelensky said.
"However, when it comes to sanctions, as Western partners list the reasons why they did not decide to impose them, they include that Ukraine did not mobilize people aged 18 and above," he added.
Zelensky said that it is not so much the number of people as the "weapons and technology" that are important, as proved by the recent Operation Spiderweb, during which Ukraine reportedly hit 41 Russian military aircraft with first-person-view (FPV) drones hidden in trucks in Russia
He added that "money and exerting pressure" were also crucial for forcing Russia to end its war.
"The sanctions would target the money that the Russians are using to finance the war," Zelensky said.
Personnel shortages have dogged Ukraine throughout its fight against Russia. Although Ukraine adopted a major bill reforming the draft in April, mobilization slowed down in autumn, leaving front-line units depleted.
Russian forces significantly outnumber Ukrainian units and have been able to advance at record rates in eastern Ukraine while absorbing heavy losses.
Elsa Court
(Updated: )
