Refusal to mobilize young Ukrainians has strained relations between Zelensky and Biden – The Telegraph

The refusal to mobilize young Ukrainians has strained Volodymyr Zelensky’s relationship with the White House.

This information reported according to The Telegraph.

The publication notes that over nearly three years of war, there have been numerous disagreements between the two leaders, but the dispute that began unfolding last week may mark the breaking point. When Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. was prepared to arm and train new brigades, it proved too much for Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president was compelled to respond publicly, delivering what the article describes as a parting blow aimed directly at Joe Biden, who remains the most influential leader in the world for another 42 days.

As previously reported, the Ukrainian President’s Office is reluctant to lower the minimum mobilization age (currently 25) given the likelihood that the war could end shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration. In this scenario, Ukrainian authorities plan to use their resistance to lowering the age as a campaign element, portraying it as a defense of the country’s “gene pool.” However, if it becomes clear that the war will drag on, the President’s Office may change its position and order the mobilization age to be lowered.

In other words, the answer to whether 18-year-olds will be mobilized is directly tied to whether the war will end in the coming months.

Western journalists have previously reported that teenagers are planning to flee Ukraine, as Kyiv faces demands to lower the mobilization age. The U.S. has also been pressuring Ukraine to reduce the age of conscription to 18 years.