Zelenksy the Mad, the First of His Name, and Ruler of Ashes, is despondent as his eastern front is collapsing as hundreds of thousands of conscripted Ukrainians flee the front lines.
Washington announces that Ukraine must begin drafting 18 year olds.
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-desertion-russia-war-1993760
Number of Ukrainian Soldiers Accused of Abandoning Positions Soars

he number of Ukrainian soldiers deserting their positions has soared in 2024, according to a new report, as Kyiv contends with persistent Russian advances and uncertainty over what the new year will hold for its war effort.

More Ukrainian soldiers deserted between January and the end of October this year than in the previous two years of full-scale war with Russia, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Kyiv prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against soldiers for leaving their positions between the start of the year and October, according to the report, totaling nearly twice the number in 2022 and 2023 combined.

Over 100,000 soldiers have been charged for desertion since February 2022, The Associated Press reported late last month, citing Ukraine's prosecutor general's office. Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian military for comment via email.

Throughout 2024, Moscow has made significant gains in Ukraine's east, advancing at its fastest pace since the early weeks of the war and claiming key settlements like Avdiivka, a former Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, in February. The Kremlin is now threatened Pokrovsk, a strategic hub for Ukrainian troops not far from the Donetsk border with the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.

A senior Washington administration official said last week that Kyiv should weigh up lowering its mobilization age to as young as 18 to quickly funnel more troops into its military. Lowering the draft age is highly controversial, and Ukraine pulled down the age of draft-eligible men from 27 to 25 in April.