MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. If Kiev adopts a law on lowering the minimum age of compulsory military service, Ukraine's entire gene pool will be lost, former Russian Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin told TASS.
"Kiev should now think about the ways of getting out the war, I reckon. If [Vladimir] Zelensky goes for it [signing law on lowering draft age], they will lose their entire gene pool," Stepashin said.
Since February 2022, Ukraine's population has declined by more than 10 million people, the former Russian prime minister pointed out. This figure includes not only battle losses, but also the number of people who left the country. A large number of young Ukrainians, primarily from the country's western part, just "fled abroad" to Poland, Germany and other states, Stepashin noted.
Recently, Ukraine has repeatedly raised the issue of lowering the mobilization age to 18. The authorities have already reduced the minimum age of compulsory military service: until April 2024, men from 27 to 60 were eligible for the draft, and now it starts from 25. However, the Ukrainian army continues to experience a shortage of personnel.