Zelenskyy signs law lowering conscription age to 25

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law that lowers the age limit for conscripts eligible for mobilisation from 27 to 25.

Source: website of the Verkhovna Rada

Details: The record card for the relevant bill – No. 9281, On Military Duty and Military Service – states that the law was returned to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) with the president's signature on 2 April.

It also notes that the document had been waiting to be signed in the President’s Office since June 2023, i.e. for 10 months.

Background: 

• The Verkhovna Rada approved the bill on 30 May 2023.
• The Ministry of Defence developed proposals to reduce the minimum age of conscripts in early May.
• The ministry explained that if conscripts are on the military register for a lengthy period during martial law, this means that a significant number of citizens fit for military service who do not have the appropriate status cannot be conscripted into military service through mobilisation. 
• Furthermore, their annual attendance at military enlistment offices, including for medical examinations, is resulting in increased financial costs, a burden on medical workers, and longer waiting lists for military medical boards. During martial law, there is no conscription into regular military service.
• On 5 May, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the bill On Military Duty and Military Service, reducing the age limit for conscripts on the military register from 27 to 25.

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