US Says Ukraine Needs More Troops, Not Only Weapons, to Win War

  • Ukraine must consider lowering draft age to 18: Biden official
  • Warning comes as Biden rushes to support Kyiv ahead of Trump

Ukrainian servicemen with firearms during a basic combined military training in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Nov. 24. 

Photographer: Maksym Kishka/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

The White House said Ukraine must recruit more soldiers for the war against Russia, including by lowering the draft age, as a lack of manpower rather than weapons is the country’s most pressing need.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government should consider lowering the recruitment age to 18 from 25 to create a much-needed pipeline of new troops to rotate into the front lines, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday.