Exact figures on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces are also not publicly known, with estimates ranging from the hundreds of thousands to around 1 million.Time journalist Simon Shuster, who published a book profiling President Volodymyr Zelensky in January 2024, quoted one of Zelensky’s aides who was concerned about the age of Ukrainian troops.“They’re grown men now, and they aren’t that healthy to begin with,” the unnamed aide told Shuster. “This is Ukraine. Not Scandinavia.”With some exceptions, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country during martial law, but only men over 25 are eligible for the draft. Until earlier this year, the minimum draft age was 27.Despite lowering the draft age to 25, news emerged in mid-October that U.S.