Ukraine says faster military aid more important than drafting more men

A volunteer who aspire to join the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attends basic training, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in the Kyiv region, Ukraine January 9, 2024. Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File Photo

KYIV - Ukraine urged its partners on Thursday to speed up military aid, saying quicker delivery of critical battlefield equipment was more important than drafting more men.

A senior U.S. administration official said on Wednesday that Ukraine was not mobilizing enough new soldiers to replace those lost on the battlefield, and urged Kyiv to reduce the mobilization age from 25 to 18.

"We are now in the situation when we need more equipment to arm all the people that have already been mobilized, and we think the first priority is to send quicker, faster military aid," Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry, told reporters in Kyiv.

His statement echoed a comment on Wednesday from Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn, who criticized what he said was sluggish military aid.

"Ukraine cannot be expected to compensate for delays in logistics or hesitation in support with the youth of our men on the frontline,” Lytvyn wrote on X.

Kyiv's forces are battling back a grinding Russian advance along a sprawling front line, where Moscow's troops are capturing village after village in a bid to eventually seize the entire industrialised Donbas region.

Tykhyi, the foreign ministry spokesman, added that Ukraine's mobilization strategy was regularly discussed with partners alongside other topics, such as defence strategy and sanctions on Russia, but denied there was disagreement over the matter.

"I can confirm that this topic is being discussed at negotiations. I can refute that this is a point of tension or that it's being discussed in a critical or negative manner," he said.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by William Maclean)