A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that American politicians are pressuring Ukraine to lower the minimum age of conscription from 25 to 18 to make more young men available for combat.
“If this information has surfaced, I can confirm it: American politicians from both parties are putting pressure on President Zelensky to explain why there is no mobilization of those aged 18 to 25 in Ukraine. The argument of our partners is that when the US fought in Vietnam, people were drafted from the age of 19,” Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, wrote on Telegram.
This is from Dave DeCamp, “U.S. Politicians Are Pressuring Ukraine to Lower Draft Age to 18,” Antiwar.com, October 15, 2024.
And Leshchenko names names (or, at least, one name):
Right before Zelensky signed the bill lowering the draft age to 25, he received a visit from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who called for younger Ukrainians to be sent to the frontlines. “I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” Graham said. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27. We need more people in the line.”
Freedom to choose your own occupation is so precious. I know that various of my pro-freedom allies think that the First Amendment is our most important amendment. But I think the Thirteenth Amendment is even more important. (Although I admit that that Amendment hasn’t been tested since 1918 and that the Supreme Court flunked the test.)
I hate to see American politicians advocating that in countries where the people are much less free than we, those countries’ governments should reduce that freedom even more. As one prominent American politician likes to say, “Mind your own damn business.”
The post U.S. Politicians Push for Ukraine to Reduce Freedom Further appeared first on Econlib.
