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Ukraine is discussing possible changes to the age limits for military mobilization, while abandoning mandatory mobilization is not currently being considered, Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, said.
According to Kostenko, the government is continuing to look for ways to recruit people who are not willing to join the military voluntarily.
“The people who wanted to defend the country have already gone. We need to find a way to bring in those who do not want to serve, but to do it properly,” he said.
Possible changes to mobilization age
Kostenko said more significant changes to the mobilization system are currently being discussed, including possible changes to the age limits for conscription during mobilization.
“I know that some radical measures are now being considered. There are already discussions about changes to the conscription age,” he said.
He declined to provide details, saying that any final changes would be announced by the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff.
Currently, under martial law, Ukraine’s mobilization age is 25 to 60.
Financial incentives have had limited impact
Kostenko also questioned whether significantly higher financial incentives would substantially increase the number of people willing to enlist.
He noted that additional payments have already been introduced for certain types of military contracts, but said they had not produced a significant increase in recruitment.
At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine is not considering making mobilization entirely voluntary. According to him, the government will continue seeking lawful ways to replenish the armed forces during the war.
