The Armed Forces of Ukraine responded to the US call to lower the conscription age.

The head of the Reserve Council of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ivan Tymochko, stated that the calls from Western allies to lower the conscription age in Ukraine are currently irrelevant. He believes that some politicians want to gain political bonuses, while others simply do not want to help Ukraine with weapons.

Tymochko explained that the conscription age cannot be lowered because the main resource of the age group 25-55 is already reserved, and all are already at the front. He also added that Ukraine can consider lowering the conscription age only when all available reserves within the law are exhausted.

Tymochko noted that there are currently many criminal cases in Ukraine regarding students, especially those studying in private educational institutions. He mentioned that it is necessary to clarify the concepts of 'conditionally fit' or 'limited fit' and to conduct a clear grading.

Additionally, Tymochko stated that if Ukraine has enough weapons and equipment, debates about lowering the conscription age will not be necessary.

Recently, the US pressured Ukraine to lower the conscription age to 18 in order to quickly increase its military capacity in the war with Russia.

Currently, the mobilization reserve of Ukraine is 3.7 million people, and the total number of male citizens aged 25 to 60 is 11.1 million.

The Ministry of Defense plans to abandon the forced involvement of citizens in military service and to implement new mechanisms. The bill to lower the military service age from 60 to 55 years will be temporarily not considered. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine stated the need to continue mobilization in Ukraine in 2025.