Ukraine shifts logistics staff to front line as mobilization falters
General Oleksandr Syrskyi emphasizes that mobilization in Ukraine is insufficient to meet the front lines' needs, which forces the transfer of personnel from logistics to mechanized units. This raises the question of why personnel responsible for logistics, among other things, are being transferred to mechanized units.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, highlighted the issue of the country's insufficient mobilization capabilities. Due to this, some military personnel previously involved in logistics and supply are being shifted to mechanized units, as the Polish Press Agency reported.
In a conversation with Ukrainian television, General Syrskyi emphasized that there is an order prohibiting the transfer of highly-skilled personnel to the infantry who specialize in aircraft operations and cannot be replaced. However, he noted that the needs at the front line require an increase in personnel in the mechanized brigades.
Unfortunately, our mobilization capabilities do not meet these needs. Therefore, we are taking action to reduce our logistics, supply, and service components within reasonable limits. The staff knows these tasks, calculations have been made,cited Syrskyi via PAP.
At the end of November 2024, the US administration urged the authorities in Kyiv to include men aged 18 and older in the mobilization. The US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, stated that Ukraine "must do more to strengthen its lines in terms of the number of forces at the front." The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to partners to accelerate the delivery of military aid, emphasizing that quicker delivery of weapons is crucial.
In a television interview, General Syrskyi also spoke about the situation at the front, particularly in the Pokrovsk area in the Donetsk region. "The enemy is making every effort to capture it. And we are doing everything to protect it and prevent its capture," Syrskyi emphasized. Pokrovsk is a key supply hub for Ukrainian troops, and the opponent concentrates its best units there. The general stressed that the losses of the Russian army in this area "exceed" the losses of the Ukrainian Defense Forces "by multiples."
According to Ukrainian calculations, the total losses of the enemy amounted to over 434,000 people, with about 150,000 killed in 2024. "This is for the year 2024... This year, they lost more than in the two previous years of the war," General Syrskyi reported.
