The President of Ukraine and senior military commanders have so far not proposed a plan to recruit thousands of troops to stop Russia's advance.
Despite warnings about a serious shortage of elite soldiers on the front for many months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has not reached a political consensus on his military recruitment policy, causing deep division in parliament and society. Ukraine.
The difficulty in adding soldiers to compensate for battlefield losses of the Ukrainian army is probably the biggest challenge for President Zelensky since the conflict broke out in February 2.
Lack of a clear mobilization strategy and disagreement on the number of troops Ukraine needs are two of the factors that led Mr. Zelensky to dismiss former commander-in-chief Valeri Zaluzhny.
However, the new Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, has so far not brought any clear changes.
Ukrainian soldiers carry L119 artillery shells at a battlefield near the city of Marinka, Donetsk province on January 12. Image: Reuters
General Syrsky is tasked with checking the units of the Ukrainian army to find more soldiers capable of fighting, after President Zelensky's office received notice that out of a million recently mobilized troops, only about 300.000 people went to the front lines.
Nearly a month after General Syrsky took office, no one in the Ukrainian military command and President Zelensky's administration explained where the remaining 700.000 people were and what they were doing.
Ukrainian lawmakers say the lack of consistent messaging from the President and the military leaves them confused about what the next step will be. “I don't understand why Mr. Zelensky and his subordinates are still trying to convince the public that everything is fine, when in fact it is not, especially with the army,” said Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of the opposition Holos party.
The dwindling number of combat-ready soldiers in the Ukrainian army is creating a strategic crisis, partly forcing them to withdraw from Avdeevka and some surrounding areas. Russian forces in these areas have overwhelming numbers.
Oleksiy Bezhevets, the official in charge of military recruitment at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, stated that citizens of military age "must accept that now is not the time for them to stay at home." “Russian forces will advance further soon if no one stops them,” Mr. Bezhevets said. “We are short of ammunition and weapons, and now we are running out of manpower. This is a tragedy."
After two years of hostilities with Russia, the impact of the initial successes has now faded and no longer drives Ukrainians to volunteer on the battlefield. Many Ukrainian soldiers were injured or exhausted after battles.
Ukrainian soldiers crossed the Dnieper River in December 12. Image: OPU
Ukraine prohibits men aged 18-60 from leaving the country, requiring those aged 27 and older to enlist, except in some special cases. People from 18 to under 27 years old can volunteer to join the army. The Ukrainian Parliament has been debating for months a bill to change the military recruitment process and lower the age of conscription to 25.
Some Ukrainian parliamentarians see the new military recruitment bill, with more than 4.000 amendments, as part of President Zelensky's effort to push the country's parliament to take responsibility for making decisions that are certainly not supported by the people.
Mr. Zelensky has long tried to control the message about the state of war to maintain public morale. This month, Mr. Zelensky for the first time publicly announced the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict with Russia as 31.000 people, a number that many sides have not been able to independently verify or have expressed doubts about its accuracy.
One of the other problems Mr. Zelensky is facing is growing pessimism at home and abroad about Ukraine's ability to stop Russia's onslaught without additional aid from the United States. The $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine has not yet been passed by the US House of Representatives.
“It's time for serious dialogue with the public, honest conversations and explaining what we need to do without looking brave,” said Volodymyr Aryev, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party. Europe, opinion.
Congresswoman Bobrovska expressed support for amendments to ensure soldiers who have been on front-line duty for a long time are demobilized. “Currently, the only way for them to return is to be injured or killed,” the congressman said. “Warfare is linked to mathematics, we must calculate our resources.”
Mr. Aryev once voted against Ukraine's military recruitment bill, which the congressman said was heavily punitive. He opposed measures such as revoking driver's licenses and confiscating bank assets of citizens who refused to register for military service.
Ukrainians who feared this measure in January rushed to withdraw money from their accounts with a total of up to 1 million USD within a month, the highest level since the war broke out.
Russian-Ukrainian war front. Graphics: WP
According to congressman Aryev, the top priority of Ukrainian officials is "to ensure that people recruited into the army are not sent to the front line without adequate training or equipment." Fear from this causes many Ukrainian citizens eligible to enlist to find ways to avoid being drafted.
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a Ukrainian parliamentarian from the Holos party, said lawmakers are looking for suitable incentive mechanisms to encourage people to enlist, including bonuses for destroying Russian combat vehicles and welfare benefits. New financing for veterans.
“This is a difficult discussion because we have already mobilized responsible people,” MP Yurchyshyn admitted. “Now we have to encourage people in general to join the army.”
Nguyễn Tiến (Follow AFP, Reuters, WSJ)
