“We still have many middle-aged men”: the Ombudsman spoke out against mobilizing youth

Lowering the mobilization age will deprive Ukraine of its future.

This opinion was expressed by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet.

“I am against it. If we take away these young guys who don’t have families or children, Ukraine automatically won’t have a future. In my opinion, we still have a significant number of middle-aged men—those aged 30 to 45. This is the most effective category of Ukrainian citizens who can and probably should fight,” Lubinets stated.

He added that he has received nearly **4,000 complaints** regarding the actions of territorial recruitment center employees during mobilization. The majority of the complaints came from **Zakarpattia**, with **Kropyvnytskyi** ranking second in the number of grievances.

It should be noted that the West, particularly the United States, has been persistently urging Ukraine to lower the mobilization age. However, Ukraine has rejected these calls but plans to attract younger citizens to the army with payments of 500,000 hryvnias.

According to media reports, the Office of the President of Ukraine does not want to lower the mobilization age, which currently stands at 25 years, taking into account the possibility that the war might end soon after Donald Trump’s inauguration. In this scenario, the government intends to use its resistance to lowering the age as part of its election campaign. However, if it becomes clear that the war is dragging on, Bankova (the Presidential Office) may change its position and order a reduction in the mobilization age.