US may demand lowering of Ukraine’s military age in exchange for arms supplies - Times
The US presidential administration may demand a reduction in the conscription age to 18 in exchange for arms supplies.
This is reported by The Times, Censor.NET informs.
"This would cross a red line for President Zelensky. He has protected his country's youngest men from a conflict that is draining its limited strength. Conscription evasion is widespread as war fatigue sets in. Lowering the draft age could be politically fatal," the article says.
The author also notes that Trump's peace will include territorial concessions.
This will mean that Ukraine will de facto, though not de jure, give up a fifth of its territories, but this "bitter pill" is likely to be sweetened by security guarantees from the West for the territories controlled by Ukraine, the article notes.
In addition, the deployment of American and European forces in Ukraine is possible to make the peace last.
What preceded it?
Earlier, the State Department stated that if the mobilization age in Ukraine is lowered to 18, the United States and its allies are ready to provide equipment to Ukrainian conscripts.
US President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that Ukraine would have to decide to lower the mobilization age to 18, but that it was Kyiv's sovereign decision.
Also, Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, said that Ukraine faces a serious shortage of human resources because the conscription age is not 18.
