Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed members of the United States Senate his country may soon be forced to enact military conscription for men over the age of 40. Facing dwindling manpower and munitions, the Ukrainian president traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to lobby the U.S. government for additional military and fiscal aid – even as more-and-more Americans say the aid should come to an end.
Last week, negotiations collapsed in the U.S. Senate over a defense supplemental funding bill containing monies for Ukraine, Israel, and in-some-form U.S. border security. Opposition to continuing funding for Ukraine has been growing among Senate Republicans, with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), on Sunday, saying Ukraine should be willing to cede “some territory” to bring the bloody conflict to an end. Republicans in the House of Representatives, meanwhile, are standing firm on their position demanding their H.R.2 border security bill be included in any funding bill in order for the legislation to even be considered.
A failed summer counter-offensive against Russian positions in Ukraine has only deepened the country’s military manpower crisis. Since June, legislation has sat on Zelensky’s desk which would lower the war-time draft age for men with no military experience from 27 to 25. Despite passing Ukrainian parliament and receiving widespread backing from Ukrainian military leaders, Zelensky has been reticent to sign legislation in what some see as a tacit acknowledgement his country has lost the war.
While Zelensky is focusing efforts to shore up Ukraine’s dwindling support abroad, the Ukrainian president is facing increasing scrutiny and criticism at home. The National Pulse previously reported Vitali Klitschko, the former boxing heavyweight champion turned Mayor of Kiev, recently accused Zelensky of “authoritarian tendencies” while warning: “At some point we will no longer be any different from Russia.”
