The Ukrainian military has begun recruiting 18-24-year-olds on a voluntary basis as the armed forces face a dire shortage of manpower to hold off the invading Russian troops.
In its latest bid to replenish the ranks of its army -- depleted by three years of full-scale war -- Ukraine has introduced a new plan that paves the way for adults below the conscription age of 25 to join the military.
What Benefits Are Offered For Joining The Ukrainian Army?
Unveiled last month, the initiative -- called The Generation That Decides Now -- offers incentives that include a 1 million hryvnya ($24,000) bonus, subsidized mortgages, free university education, and the right to travel abroad after completing service. Under martial law, most men aged 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country.
The military is also offering young volunteers intense training, the right to choose which military brigade they want to join, and the right to defer mobilization for a year -- when they reach 25.
The duration of the service under such contracts is just one year, but it can be extended on a voluntary basis, according to the Defense Ministry. By comparison, the majority of other soldiers in Ukraine are expected to serve indefinitely, if they survive.
Days after the initiative was announced, ministry spokesman Dmytro Lazutkin told RFE/RL that it has sparked “interest,” with many young people contacting the hotlines of military recruitment centers and the Defense Ministry to seek information.
Under full-scale attack by its much larger neighbor since February 2022, Ukraine has struggled with problems including manpower, shortages of weapons and ammunition, and military corruption.
The manpower problem came up during a heated argument between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on February 28.
Trump told Zelenskyy his country was “running low on soldiers,” while Vance said Ukrainian authorities “are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because [they] have manpower problems.”
The Biden administration, which provided tens of billions of dollars in support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, told Kyiv in November that Ukraine has the weaponry it needs and should significantly increase its troops levels.
“We’re also ready to ramp up our training capacity if they take appropriate steps to fill out their ranks,” Sean Savett, the White House National Security Council spokesman, said at that time.
Why Isn't Zelenskyy Mobilizing Ukraine’s Youth?
But Ukraine has resisted calls from the United States and other Western allies to lower the compulsory conscription age from 25 to 18. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government has argued that sending the youngest adult generation to war en masse will leave Ukraine facing a demographic crisis in the future and hamper its ability to rebuild the nation after the fighting is over.
Last April, Ukraine reduced the draft age from 27 to 25, introduced tougher punishments for draft dodgers, and lowered physical requirements for military service, allowing men who had HIV and tuberculosis to enlist. Those measures have had a limited effect.
The new initiative has already angered some Ukrainians.
Oleh Simoroz, an activist and army veteran, called the plan “discrimination” against soldiers who are not eligible for the benefits.
"We must not divide people in the army based on their age,” Simoroz wrote on Facebook.
“Affordable mortgages should be available to all servicemen. The same is with free university education. Why should a 55-year-old sergeant -- who doesn’t have a university education and is discharged from the army after being wounded -- be worse-off than a 20-year-old?"
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, including those living abroad, had voluntarily joined the army to defend their country when Russia invaded it in February 2022. The enthusiasm has waned, however, as the war drags on.
Has Ukraine Failed to Solve Its Manpower Problem?
After Russia launched the invasion, “Ukraine had little difficulty finding troops to defend the country,” Simon Schlegel, then the senior analyst for Ukraine at the International Crisis Group, wrote in December.
However, he wrote, “The surge of volunteerism that followed Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022 has fizzled after three years of brutal warfare and in the absence of a clear path to victory for Ukraine.”
Ukrainian media reported more than 18,000 army desertion cases in January-September last year, while thousands more reportedly paid bribes to leave the country.
But many Ukrainians say they will defend their country for as long as it takes.
A serviceman, who only gave his first name, Vitaliy, told RFE/RL that he welcomes the government’s plan to offer incentives to young people to join the army.
Despite being 21 years old, Vitaliy is not eligible for the benefits because he enlisted before the project was announced. But he said he has no regrets as the money has not been his motivation to fight for his country.
“I am not angry. I’ve already been on vacations, I have traveled to foreign countries,” he said. “I am going to extend my military contact until we reach the logical conclusion of this war.”
