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Ukrainian generals are looking to mobilise up to half a million new soldiers to push back Putin’s invading army, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky said he was yet to make a final decision on the military’s request as it was a question of “fairness and money” as well as Ukraine’s defence capability.
It comes amid fears Russia could grind down Kyiv’s army with its huge population and resources as western military aid to Ukraine faces US and EU deadlock.
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“I said that I would need more arguments to support this move,” the president said. “Because first of all, it’s a question of people, secondly, it’s a question of fairness, it’s a question of defence capability, and it’s a question of finances.”
But how many troops does Ukraine have and how does this compare to the US and British Army?
Volodymyr Zelensky said he was yet to make a decision on the suggestion as it was a question of ‘fairness’
Ukraine
The Ukrainian army counted around 500,000 servicemen, 200,000 of which are active military personnel, recent figures show.
If the figures are accurate, the Ukrainian army’s suggestion would bring the total number of servicemen to nearly one million.
Under Ukrainian law, only men aged 27 to 60 can be mobilised for the front line, although younger men can volunteer to fight. As of January 2022, Ukraine had a male population of 19 million.
Men aged 18 to 20 cannot be sent to the battlefield. Most Ukrainian soldiers at the front are believed to be volunteers, many of whom have been fighting since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Estimates of the number of Ukrainian men killed in the conflict have varied between 30,000 and 70,000. In November, a Ukrainian civic group put the death toll at 30,000.
But US military sources have suggested the number is closer to 70,000. Kyiv treats its losses as a state secret and officials say disclosing the figure could harm its war effort.
Ukrainian servicemen walk towards their base in Donetsk, Ukraine, earlier this year. The Ukrainian army is seeking to mobilise 500,000 more troops (AFP via Getty Images)
Russia
The Russian army has about four times more active military personnel than Ukraine some 1,330,900 men and 250,000 reservists. As of 2021, Russia had a male population of around 66 million.
In July, the Russian parliament raised the maximum age at which men can be conscripted from 27 to 30, increasing the number of young men liable for a year of compulsory military service from 1 January 2024.
It means men will be required to carry out a year of military service, or equivalent training during higher education, between the ages of 18 and 30, rather than 18 and 27.
The law also prevents men from dodging the draft by banning them from leaving Russia from the day they are summoned to a conscription office.
Russian president Vladimir Putin sits with defense minister Sergei Shoigu. Russia raised the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30 (Sputnik)
US
The United States Army has around 1,832,000 military personnel, according to recent figures. As of 2022, the US had a male population of 165 million.
Up to 1,390,000 of these troops are said to be active personnel and 442,000 are reserve soldiers. Conscription is not in place in the United States at this point.
But all men aged between 18 and 25 are required to register with Selective Service, a government agency that keeps a record of US citizens potentially subject to conscription. This allows US Congress to identify and call upon all men of fighting age in the event of a major conflict.
The United States has introduced conscription six times: in the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, First World War, Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The US army has an estimated 1,832,000 total military personnel (AFP via Getty Images)
Britain
The British army has an estimated 231,000 total military personnel. Up to 194,000 of these are active and 37,000 are reservists. As of 2021, there were 29 million men living in the UK.
Conscription has only been in place twice in the UK. It was introduced during the First World War and Second World War, lasting four and 21 years respectively.