2023-12-19 10:48:24
Published19. December 2023, 11:48
War in Ukraine: “We need young people, under 40 and motivated”
After almost two years of Russian invasion, the Ukrainian army is short of new recruits. Those who have been fighting from the start are tired, adrenaline having given way to wear and tear.
Ukrainian soldiers are struggling to defend following two grueling years, in the heat of the summers, the mud or snow of the winters and the constant bombing of the trenches.
REUTERS
After 22 months of a war costly in men, the Ukrainian army is struggling to find new recruits to go to the front, to fight Russian forces once once more on the offensive. “Our units are understaffed. We need young people, under 40, and motivated,” worries Major Oleksandr Volkov, commander of a battalion of the 24th mechanized brigade.
“Today’s society has probably been deceived by some media, saying that everything is fine with the Ukrainian army, that we are defeating the enemy and that victory will take place in the near future,” the major regrets. “But the current situation is not so simple. The enemy is really very strong, very powerful. And we do everything to hold him back and beat him.”
The Russian army is slowly gaining ground
After the failure of the Ukrainian summer counter-offensive in the south, which crashed once morest a solid Russian defense, Moscow’s troops have regained the initiative since the fall and are attacking several sectors, in particularly in the east.
Koupiansk, Bakhmout, Avdiïvka, Marinka…: with more human resources and ammunition, the Russian army is slowly gaining ground, despite significant losses in men and equipment.
“The State must respond, replace the people who have been fighting for two years already, including me.”
Oleksandr Volkov, Major
Opposite, the Ukrainians are struggling to defend following two trying years, in the heat of the summers, the mud or snow of the winters and the constant bombardments on the trenches. Some, who have been fighting since the beginning, on February 24, 2022, are exhausted. The killed and wounded have difficulty being replaced, with volunteers becoming rarer.
“Over time, it calmed down”
At the start of the conflict, “everything happened in adrenaline, in a sort of exaltation, everyone rushed to fight and so there was no problem” with numbers, says Lieutenant Igor Prokopiak, company commander.
But over time, “it calmed down. People had access to social networks, they saw the terrible, cruel side of war. That initial adrenaline wore off, the brain woke up, fear arose and, as a result, people began to fear for their lives.
“That initial adrenaline wore off, the brain woke up, fear arose, and as a result, people began to fear for their lives.”
Igor Proporiak, Ukrainian company commander
Oleksandr Volkov notes that civilians “don’t really want to join the armed forces.” And the average age of soldiers on the front is increasing. The major cites his unit, which has 40% 45 years and over. “I have seen a lot of young people in civilian life, I don’t know why they are not mobilized. The State must respond, replace the people who have been fighting for two years already, including me,” he insists.
Timing and corruption
On December 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the military command to review the recruitment system. “It is not simply a question of numbers, of people who can be mobilized. It’s a question of timing for each person who is currently in the army, for demobilization, and for those who will join the units, he said.
The system was also plagued by corruption which allowed conscripts to escape the army. Last summer, President Zelensky had to fire all the regional managers responsible for recruitment.
“I understand that I should have come earlier”
Taras does not know why he was not mobilized sooner. He has just arrived in Major Volkov’s unit and is training with other recruits. “I was stopped on the street and received an invitation to the military registration office. So I went there,” said this 38-year-old municipal employee from Transcarpathia, a western region more than 1,000 km from the front.
“To be honest, the closer I am to the front line, the more interesting it is, the more I understand the need for it. At home, it’s really far from all that, so life is very calm there. Now I understand that I should have come earlier. Because Ukraine must be defended.”
(AFP)
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