The Ukrainian front is preparing to rearm this summer. On Tuesday, the president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill he had proposed in February to lower the enlistment age from 27 to 25. The measure is aimed at expanding military mobilization at a time when the Ukrainian Armed Forces are already suffering from exhaustion among their ranks after more than two years of war and a new threat: increase in Russian army recruits in recent months, especially in the last two weeks.
Nearly 16,000 people They have enlisted in the last ten days, after the attack on the concert hall Crocus City Hall of Moscow that claimed at least 144 lives on March 22. “In the last ten days some 16,000 citizens have signed contracts to participate in the special military operation [como denomina la jerga oficial rusa la guerra en Ucrania]”said the Ministry of Defense in a statement published on Telegram. The note adds that, since the beginning of the year, more than 100,000 Russians have signed contracts with the armed forces, and the number of daily enlistments are close to 1,700.
This popular response to the Crocus City Hall bombing comes as no surprise. The Kremlin-friendly media apparatus has been in charge of assuring citizens from the outset that the attack, although carried out by members of ISIS-K—the Central Asian faction of the Islamic State—had been actually orchestrated by Ukrainejointly with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Ukrainian military fires an M109 self-propelled howitzer at Russian troops.
To this day, Russian researchers maintain that the jihadists received “significant amounts of money and cryptocurrencies from Ukraine” to prepare the attack. This same Monday, the Russian Foreign Espionage Service linked what happened in the concert hall two weeks ago with the Ukrainian attacks in recent months against Russian border regions.
The official discourse in Russia has had an impact, and has motivated the mobilization of thousands of young people in the country. The statement from the Ministry of Defense this week highlights that, in the interviews, the majority of the candidates “indicated the desire to avenge those killed in tragedy “After the terrible events in Moscow, I do not want to stay on the sidelines. “I don't want my own hometown to see a tragedy like that.”
[Zelenski propone una ley para llevar a jóvenes de 25 años al frente y reclutar a 500.000 nuevos soldados]
This Wednesday, Zelensky warned of a mobilization much larger than 16,000 on the enemy side for the summer. On an official visit to his Finnish counterpart in Helsinki, the Ukrainian prime minister warned that Russia “is ready to mobilize 300,000 additional military personnel before June 1.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu himself declared last month that Moscow would strengthen its army with the incorporation of two new armies and 30 new formations by the end of this year.
As June arrives, the document ratified today by the Ukrainian Prime Minister and pending the Verkhovna Rada's conversion into law intends that the disadvantage of kyiv forces before the Russian troops is not as pronounced as this winter, highlights Uniana Ukrainian information agency.
Several Ukrainian brigade members board a French AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicle.
Zelensky had said last December that the army commanders had demanded the mobilization of 500,000 additional men. With half a million soldiers, Ukraine It would allow the replacement of the current 330,000 fighters and reinforce the Ukrainian defense with 170,000 additional troops. They will also replace the soldiers killed in combat since the start of the war, who are estimated at 31,000 casualtiesalthough several US Pentagon sources have stated that the real figure is at least double.
However, at the press conference this Wednesday the president refused to provide specific figures, and assured that throughout this year “half a million is not necessary.” In any case, the measure approved this Wednesday by Zelensky does not promise to achieve 500,000 new men for the front. How do you appreciate a analysis of the Financial Timesthe decline in birth rates after the collapse of the Soviet Union evidences a narrowing in the population pyramid when you reach the age range of 20 to 27 years.
