by ZeroHedge News Staff at ZeroHedge
It’s no secret that the Biden administration has been pressuring Ukraine’s Zelensky behind the scenes to drop the age of conscription down to 18 from the current age of 25. But now the White House is becoming much more direct and out in the open about it.
With less than 50 days to go of Biden in office, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Kiev to make “hard decisions” about expanding mobilization efforts to fight the Russians. He’s urging that younger men be forced into the fight.
“Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary” Blinken stated in a NATO press conference on Wednesday. “Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight,” he explained.
He emphasized that that manpower is critical “because even with the money, even with the munitions, there have to be people on the front lines.” The Biden White House has been rushing as much arms to Ukraine forces as it can with little time left in the Democratic administration.
Blinken also stressed that NATO is seeking to ensure every soldier Ukraine mobilizes has “the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country.”
Additionally, Reuters quoted the US top diplomat as saying it remains “up to the Ukrainian authorities to decide how best to get younger men into the fight.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte the same day echoed…
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