“Youth must be protected” – Zaluzhny opposes lowering conscription age

Source: Bukvy

Former Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said he is against the idea that Ukraine must mobilize young people aged 18 to 25. Calling them the “future of Ukraine, the general who recently became Ukraine’s envoy in the UK argued they could be conscripted in the most extreme circumstances.

During his October 3 meeting with Ukrainian students in Lon, Zaluzhny said,

“Youth aged 18 to 25 must be protected as much as possible. When I was Commander-in-Chief, I always opposed mobilizing those under 25 because Ukraine will need them in 20 or 30 years. These are the people who will save this country.”

He also revealed the Ukrainian army has had a hard time as it has to count on older soldiers with their post-Soviet mindset becoming a challenge.

“With a 50-year-old man, you need to explain why his company or battalion should attack or defend a position. Their mentality is different—more Soviet, with the idea that ‘someone else’ can do it,” Zaluzhny explained.

The general stressed that compulsory mobilization of the youth could be needed in a worst-case scenario.

“If the country reaches a point where its very existence is at stake, only young people aged 18 to 25 can save it, as they are a completely different generation,” he concluded.