US President Joe Biden’s administration is urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by recruiting more soldiers and allowing people as young as 18 to enlist.
The outgoing Democratic administration wants to lower the mobilization age from the current 25 to 18 to increase the number of troops fighting the Ukraine war, a senior Biden administration official said Wednesday.
Ukraine needs more soldiers
The official said that, in simple terms, Ukraine’s current situation is that it needs more troops in the fight. The official said Ukraine is currently unable to raise and train enough troops to make up for the loss of its battlefield as it fights the growing Russian army.
The White House has provided more than $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Several billion dollars more are expected to be sent to kyiv before Biden leaves office .
You need a large army to stay in the fight.
The Biden administration believes Ukraine has the weapons it needs and will now have to significantly increase the number of its troops if it wants to stay in the fight with Russia.
The official said the Ukrainians believe they need about 160,000 additional troops, but the U.S. administration believes they will likely need much more. More than 1 million Ukrainians are currently in the military, including the National Guard and other units.
