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Kostenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, recently revealed, Ukraine's military recruitment offices have started formally recruiting men over the age of 60 for the military.This initiative marks that the problem of military shortages in Ukraine has grown to an unprecedented level.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian President Zelensky pointed his face to China, saying “China must force Russia to stop its military operations.”This statement has caused widespread concern in the international community.
During the fourth year of the war, the reserve of Ukrainian troops was almost exhausted. According to the information disclosed by Kostenko, the Ukrainian military recruitment office has begun officially recruiting men over the age of 60 for the army.These sixty-year-old men will be sent to the modern battlefield to face Russian artillery fire and drones.
This extreme measure was not introduced suddenly. At the beginning of the war, Ukraine relied on patriotic enthusiasm and aid from the West to overcome the Russian army’s “lightning battle.”However, as the fighting continued, the shortage of Ukrainian soldiers grew, and the standard of recruitment also declined.
Ukraine first increased the minimum age for military recruitment from 27 to 25 years, and then launched a “voluntary recruitment campaign” targeting young people aged 18 to 24, but these measures are still unable to meet the huge consumption of the front.
The weekly battle report released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on September 19 showed that, The Russian army carried out four cluster strikes between September 13 and 19.These targets include Ukrainian energy and transportation facilities, arsenals and temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.
In the face of continued Russian attacks, Ukraine is also trying to counter. The Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that the strike was carried out on the night of 18 on the 810th Independent Naval Corps Logistics Hub in Kursk.Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Monday that the Ukrainian army continued to carry out counter-offensive operations in the direction of Donetsk.
The fierce fighting brought huge casualties. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Sersky posted a battle report on Telegram saying that the Ukrainian army annihilated more than 1,300 Russian soldiers in one operation.But behind such results are the serious losses of the Ukrainian army itself.
The continued hostilities resulted in a sharp decline in the population of Ukraine. According to last year’s data, the population of Ukraine has fallen from more than 40 million before the war to more than 37 million.Among them, there are a large number of women and children who have fled the war, and the number of men of appropriate age to serve has been greatly reduced.
To compensate for the shortage of troops, the Ukrainian recruitment agency has taken various measures. They began to “drain” on the streets, in the subway, and even in the gym.These practices have sparked scandals and the Ukrainian law enforcement itself has acknowledged serious corruption in the recruitment system.
Some officials took bribes to help children of wealthy families forge medical certificates to avoid military service. This unfair phenomenon further aggravates social contradictions. The children of ordinary people are dragged to the battlefield, while the children of powerful people can evade military service.
Zelensky faces multiple pressures. On the one hand, he needs to maintain troops on the battlefield; On the other hand, we have to deal with the expectations of western allies.The U.S. and Europe provide weapons and funds, but do not send troops.They expect Ukraine to use its own human resources to consume Russia.
Zelensky’s political life was closely linked to the status of “anti-Russian hero”. If he now chooses to compromise and negotiate peace, he is likely to be viewed as a “surrenderist” at home, and his political position will be jeopardized.This predicament forced him to stick to a hard line.
Recently, the first U.S. weapons "paying for Europe" have been shipped to Ukraine, worth $1 billion, including Patriot air defense missiles.But these advanced weapons also require manpower, further increasing human resource pressure on Ukraine.
Despite the difficulties faced, the Ukrainian army still acted on the battlefield. On September 18, Zelensky announced that the Ukrainian army had launched a counterattack in the Donetsk region, successfully capturing seven settlements around Pokrovsk and Dobropolya, a total of about 160 square kilometers of territory.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Sersky said that the Ukrainian army has successfully broken through the Russian defense line and advanced 3 to 7 kilometers in multiple counteroffensive directions. Although these developments are limited, they have boosted the morale of the Ukrainian army to a certain extent.
Zelensky also specifically mentioned the defence of Kupyansk, which is located in the northeastern part of the state of Kharkov and is an important hub connecting the war zones in the east, and its loss has a significant impact on the logistics supply and mobilization of troops on both sides.
At the United Nations General Assembly, Zelensky pointed to China, claiming that "Russia is entirely dependent on China, and China must force Russia to stop its military operations." "Without China, Russia is nothing, but China is often silent."
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded at a regular press conference on September 24 that China has always been aboveboard on the Ukrainian crisis.From the first day of the crisis, China has adhered to an objective and fair stance and insisted on persuading and promoting talks.
In January, China's permanent deputy representative to the United Nations, Geng Xiaoping, dismissed accusations by the United States that "China supplies weapons to Russia."If China really supplied Russia with military supplies, the situation on the battlefield would not have been like it is today.
Both sides have the same position on the issue of peace talks. In June, Putin offered Zelensky a series of terms for peace talks, including requiring Ukraine to legally recognize the four states of Uzbekistan and Crimea as part of Russia.These conditions were regarded by Zelensky as “exile clauses”.
Putin also called for Ukraine to restrict the development of its armed forces, fight nationalists, and never join NATO. Zelensky reacted sharply to Putin’s proposal for a two to three-day ceasefire in order to recover the corpses of the dead soldiers, and even exploded.
China has always advocated a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Chinese representative pointed out at the Shangri-La Summit in Singapore last year that the idea of "fighting until the last Ukrainian" is extremely horrible.
The question raised by China at that time, "All your people are wiped out, what are the Ukrainian people fighting for?" Now seems predictable.
References:
Ukrainian lawmakers: the Ukrainian Recruitment Office has begun recruiting men over 60 years of age to join the Ukrainian army 2025-09-18 02:10 PM Source: Russian satellite news agency
The first US shipment of “European payments” weapons to Ukraine 2025-09-19 08:50 PM
Zelensky said “Without China, Russia is nothing”, China’s response 2025-09-24 16:31