Last week, a senior Biden administration official anonymously reported to the Associated Press that the administration was pressing Ukraine to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18. Days later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed this, stating, “Look, these are very hard decisions, and I fully understand and respect that. But for example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think is necessary. Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight. And making sure that people are there – not just the weapons, not just the munitions, not just the money, but mobilized forces – is also essential to success.”
The reason for this push is something that has been clear for many months and is now being admitted by even the most staunchly pro-Ukrainian outlets: Ukraine is simply running out of men. The implications of this ought to be horrifying. The size of their armed forces started at around 200,000 men in active duty, supported by 900,000 reservists. Since then, they’ve drafted more than 1,000,000 men, and they’ve already lowered the draft age from 27 to 25. Also stark, the average age of the Ukrainian fighter went from low 30’s to over 40 in 2023. Further admissions on both morale and manpower have seeped through the propaganda. Kyiv has admitted that over 100,000 soldiers have been charged with desertion since the beginning of the war, and that troops are grappling with exceedingly low morale.
Continue reading “Now Is the Time to Teach Your Children That Conscription Is Slavery”