Ukraine needs more fighters – but where should Zelensky get them?. At least 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have likely died in the past two years, U.S.
officials said in August 2023. The need to remove exhausted troops from combat operations is now encountering increasing manpower shortages. Ukraine abolished its existing conscription system, which required able-bodied men to serve for 12 months until the age of 27. Now all men aged 27 to 60 can be drafted into the Ukrainian military at any time.