Only fear of public backlash is preventing Kiev from forcing 18-year-olds into service, Nikolay Azarov has told RT
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky would swiftly mandate the mobilization of 18-year-olds if not for concerns over a public backlash, former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has told RT.
Kiev has been relying on compulsory conscription to bolster its military ranks during the conflict with Russia. Last year, it lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 as part of wider reforms. Azarov, who served as prime minister from 2010 to 2014 before being ousted in a Western-backed coup alongside President Viktor Yanukovych, anticipates that the current government will ultimately compel young adults to fight as well.
“Zelensky would do anything. The only restraint is public discontent,” he claimed in a Tuesday interview. “People are already outraged by the way mobilization is conducted, where men aged 20 to 60 can be grabbed in the streets, beaten, and sent to the frontlines.”
Azarov cited videos circulating online showing over 100 instances of forced conscription, which he characterized as criminal behavior by mobilization officials.
Kiev recently initiated a program to entice young men to volunteer, offering 1 million hryvnia ($24,000) for a year of military service. However, due to the grim casualty rates, fewer than 500 have accepted the offer, even though the money is “huge, by Ukraine’s standards,” Azarov said.
The government’s desperation to increase enlistment is evident in its messaging, Azarov argued. Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, has publicly set a goal of recruiting 30,000 soldiers per month. Additionally, the deputy head of the presidential administration, Col. Pavel Palisa, has called for mandatory military service for women, advocating for a model akin to Israel’s.
Azarov believes that if and when younger citizens are compelled to join the military, it will have little impact on the army’s combat effectiveness. He condemned the treatment of conscripts today as abysmal.
“Imagine an 18-year-old fellow mobilized and sent to the frontlines after just three or four days of training. What’s the point? What skills does he have? Can he even defend himself?” he asked.
Even without factoring in military casualties, Ukraine’s demographic situation is already “critical,” with death rates far exceeding birth rates, Azarov warned. The hostilities with Russia will eventually cease, and Ukrainians should be concerned about “who will rebuild the country and what its future demographic makeup will be.”
“Given the government’s attitude towards its citizens, the outlook is indeed bleak,” he concluded.
