«The most effective military are 18-25 year olds»: Kim on lowering the draft age

The head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, Vitalii Kim, has spoken out about a possible reduction in the conscription age in Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with «TSN».

He noted that this decision is not popular, and it was not previously supported by the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. At the same time, Vitaliy Kim stressed that the most effective military personnel are usually aged 18-25.

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«In fact, the most effective guys are 18-25 years old. There are a lot of them. My hookah man was a guy who was always a bit of a problem, he went there. He had already «shot» 20-something boxes. His hands are standing up and that's it, he has state medals — he's a handsome man. Just because you are young, strong, think fast and have a flair for technology, it is definitely effective,» said Vitalii Kim.

He also noted that it is difficult for him to say whether this decision is correct, as he does not have enough data to make an assessment.

«I think in parallel in two areas at once. The first is the state position, and the second is personal. What is personal is when you have a son, brother, and so on. I can say, in principle, I have the right, because my younger brother, who is not of military age, joined the army and is now a company commander, my sister is serving, and all my friends are serving. I have the right to express my opinion... But I do not draw conclusions, because this is a complex and difficult issue,» says Vitalii Kim.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said that it was inappropriate to lower the mobilisation age in Ukraine. According to him, men between the ages of 30 and 45 make up the most effective reserve for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It should be noted that the United States is calling on Ukraine to revise its mobilisation legislation and allow people to be drafted into the army from the age of 18 to increase the size of the armed forces.

Dmytro Lytvyn, Communications Advisor to the President of Ukraine, responded to the US announcement that the age of mobilisation in Ukraine would be lowered to 18. According to him, there is no point in accepting such calls when the previously announced aid does not arrive on time.