Ukrainian draft surge faces training, readiness challenges
The mobilisation push has so far not significantly bolstered Ukraine’s forces on the battlefield, those people say. Many conscripts are still completing the weekslong training process and have yet to reach the front. And some recruits who have arrived are not physically fit for combat, according to soldiers from Ukrainian units cited by the American daily.
9:14 AM EDT, July 31, 2024
"Large numbers of recruits will arrive at the front in the coming weeks, soldiers and military analysts said, but some are poorly trained or out of shape," wrote the "New York Times" on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian officials, military personnel, and analysts.
- The mobilization push has so far not significantly bolstered Ukraine’s forces on the battlefield, those people say. Many conscripts are still completing the weekslong training process and have yet to reach the front. And some recruits who have arrived are not physically fit for combat, according to soldiers from Ukrainian units cited by the American daily.
Nearly 33,000 drafts per month
Some brigades deployed at the front report that the number of recruits has increased recently. Nazar Voytenkov, the spokesperson for the 33rd Mechanized Brigade, said on Friday that his unit "received more newbies this month" than they had at the beginning of the year. - And today I was told that more are on the way, - he announced.
Ukrainian authorities refused to provide the number of new recruits, claiming it is confidential information. However, three military experts familiar with the figures said that since May - when a new conscription law came into effect in Ukraine - 30,000 people are conscripted into the army per month. This is two or three times more than during the winter months and about the same number are recruited monthly by the Russian army– wrote the "NYT".
Serhiy Skibchyk, the spokesperson for the 65th Brigade fighting in southern Ukraine, said that the situation has improved somewhat compared to the end of 2023, when there was a severe shortage of soldiers. Now, small groups of recruits arrive at his unit every week, "But our needs still exceed the number of people we’re getting" – he said.
In April, the then Commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine, General Yuriy Sodol, said that on some sections of the front, the Russians outnumber Ukrainian soldiers by more than sevenfold.
However, Ukraine has difficulty recruiting more soldiers due to a system that critics say is mired in bureaucracy and corruption. A recent survey also found that most Ukrainians consider the basic training of conscripts to be insufficient, leading to some men avoiding conscription out of fear that they will not be adequately prepared for combat – wrote the newspaper.
The Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, Yehor Cherniev, wrote in a text message that "situation with mobilization has improved significantly", but did not provide specific numbers.
Besides mobilization, Ukraine has also released approximately 4,200 inmates from prison to go to the front in exchange for the possibility of a pardon after completing their service – informed Justice Minister Denys Malyuska.
A doctor fighting near Toretsk in eastern Ukraine said her brigade received 2,200 recruits and inmates over the past two months.
"They are not ready for combat"
As noted by the "NYT," citing soldiers and analysts, mobilizing new recruits and providing them with adequate weapons and ammunition, as well as training, is essential.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this month that there are not sufficient training centers for recruits. He added that several brigades are inadequately armed due to delays in delivering Western weapons.
Nazar Voytenkov, the spokesperson for the 33rd Mechanized Brigade, said recruits were given additional one-week training to familiarize them with the weapons and armored vehicles they would be using. After basic training - as he noted - "they are not ready to fight, honestly."
