Former Aidar officer Dykyi called for lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine to 21

Ukraine needs to lower the conscription age to 21.

This was stated by Yevhen Dykyi, director of the National Antarctic Scientific Center and former company commander of the Aidar Battalion, on Apostrof TV.

He stressed that the current situation with the draft age seems to him “a bit absurd.”

“We gain all rights, except the right to run for president, at 18. But for some reason the duty to defend the country comes seven years later. That’s a bit absurd,” the former commander said.

According to him, young men could carry out army tasks in the rear, while the “grown men” who are doing that now could be sent “further east.”

“To be honest, I don’t understand why we shouldn’t begin gradually lowering the conscription age from 25 to 21. With a guarantee that these young people, unless they volunteer and choose it themselves, cannot be sent to the front line, to zero. They can be involved in army logistics and can replace grown men in air defense. They can shoot down Shaheds in the rear, and the men who are now doing that in the rear will go further east,” Dykyi said.

Earlier, Dykyi criticized the permission allowing men under 22 to travel abroad.

He also called for the forced mobilization of men who had left the country.

In addition, the former Aidar officer said that 500,000 Ukrainians would need to be mobilized in order to win the war.