Media report tension between Zelenskyy and Biden over mobilisation in Ukraine

Arguments over mobilisation rates and age in Ukraine have caused tension between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden.

As reported by The Telegraph, the dispute over mobilisation has been described as one of the most acute of all the disputes between Kyiv and Washington in the previous phases of the war. 

In recent weeks, the United States has been making public and private calls for Ukraine to lower the age of mobilisation to 18, arguing that the shortage of personnel on the front is becoming critical, which is why Russia is able to make advances in the east, and that after the change of power in the White House, Trump may cut off military aid to Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his trip to Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting that holding the front requires not only funding and ammunition, but also people. "But, for example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary. Right now, 18– to 25-year-olds are not in the fight," he said.

The US saw as an unprecedented attack on Biden Zelenskyy’s recent assertions that Putin is only afraid of Trump "and, perhaps, China" and that supplying weapons to Ukraine and diminishing Russia’s military potential – and not the mobilisation age in Ukraine – are the key priority.

The Telegraph contextualised the situation by saying that the age structure of Ukraine’s population means that there are significantly fewer 18-25 year olds than people of older generations, which is seen as a danger to demographics in the future. In addition, mobilisation age has already been lowered from 27 to 25 years.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured NATO and Kyiv of Washington's commitment to fully utilise US$61 billion in funding for Ukraine authorised by the US Congress.