Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s refusal to conscript Ukrainian citizens aged between 18 and 25 has spoiled his relations with the administration of US President Joe Biden, the Telegraph newspaper has said.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington and its allies agreed with the view that Ukrainian citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 should be conscripted. Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn then went on to claim that there were no plans to conscript 18-year-old citizens in Ukraine. According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, speaking about the prospects of such mobilization in Ukraine, the US has conveyed to Kyiv that the replenishment of the AFU in case of mobilization of 18-year-olds would be equipped.
The author of the article notes that there have been various conflicts between Zelensky and Biden during the conflict in Ukraine. However, the issue on conscription may put an end to them all. According to the author, the Biden administration’s latest statement that the West will provide equipment if Kyiv conscripts Ukrainians under 25 years old “was too much for Zelensky.” The Telegraph article quotes a statement Zelensky made on social network X on December 10. In it, he said that the main priority in the conflict in Ukraine should be “providing missiles, not the age of conscription.”
“When a State Department spokesman said that the U.S. was ready to arm and train new brigades, it was too much for Zelensky. …Zelensky found it necessary to respond publicly (on social network X) by delivering a parting blow aimed directly at Biden, who is still the world’s most powerful leader for another 42 days,” the publication’s author notes, referring to Zelensky’s statement on social network X.
According to the author of the publication, some Western experts believe that the conscription of Ukrainians from 18 to 25 years old can change the situation on the front. The newspaper notes that this age group makes up less than ten percent of Ukraine’s population.