Zaluzhnyi opposed lowering the mobilisation age to 18: ‘These are completely different people’

The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and now the ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain Valery Zaluzhnyi emphasized the need to protect young people from forced mobilization. In an interview he gave during a meeting with students in London, Zaluzhnyi emphasized that the age group of 18-25 years is the future of Ukraine, and lowering the mobilization age can only be done as a last resort. About this are reported “Letters”.

Zaluzhny explained that during his tenure as commander-in-chief, he was constantly opposed to recruiting young people younger than 25 years old into the army. His main argument was the need to preserve the country’s potential for the long term.

“The 18-25-year-old category should be protected as much as possible. Why did I always protest that mobilization should not apply to people under 25 when I was in the position of Commander-in-Chief, because we need Ukraine both in 20 years and in 30 years. And here it is – she is now 18 years old. These are completely different people who will save this country.”, he noted.

Zaluzhnyi also emphasized that working with senior military personnel is often accompanied by certain difficulties due to the post-Soviet mentality. According to him, in older generations there is a feeling that someone else can complete the task instead of them.

“If we take a 50-year-old “uncle”, we have to explain to him why exactly his company, his battalion should storm a height or defend a strong point. They have a completely different, post-Soviet mentality that “someone else can do it” for them.”, – explained the ambassador.

Zaluzhnyi added that it is only necessary to forcibly recruit young people into the army when the threat to the state becomes critical. According to him, only in the case of a direct threat to the existence of Ukraine, young people aged 18-25 will be able to be drafted into the army, because they are the key force capable of protecting the country.

This statement was made against the background of active discussions in the Verkhovna Rada about a possible lowering of the mobilization age. Secretary of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Roman Kostenko previously expressed the opinion that the mobilization age in Ukraine should start at 20. He drew attention to the fact that at the moment, for example, people’s deputies can run for office at the age of 21, and according to the current legislation, most of them enter the ranks of the Armed Forces from the age of 25.