Mobilization crisis in Ukraine: why army lacks people and what the military think about it
"I see now that the war will continue. And even if we receive weapons, so, a huge gratitude to our partners, but we can not stand purely physically, because we do not have enough people. The focus did not understand the Ukrainian army on the verge of a personnel crisis. According to the former spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, military expert Vladislav Seleznov, information on the level of staffing of members of the defense units of Ukraine is under the stamp "quite secretly".
However, he does not deny that some soldiers complain about the lack of people in their units. At the same time, the mobilization in Ukraine is stable, mobilized, including abroad. However, the expert states that the number of personnel is not a major problem in the modern war. Now there is a war of technology, unmanned systems, artillery and other means of damage.
In addition, Ukraine is now in strategic defense, which reduces the need for a huge number of military people on the line of clash with the army of the Russian Federation. "We are in strategic defense under the guise of properly built engineering fortifications. In this situation, the number of personnel requires a little less. Therefore, these factors, to some extent, work as a compensatory mechanism in order for us to be able to, with available resources, have stabilization on the battlefield.
" The serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Igor Lutsenko draws attention to the deterioration of the situation with personnel in the Armed Forces, and in the army of the Russian Federation. In his opinion, the losses of personnel are caused not only by combat actions, but also by internal problems in the structure of defense forces, which are systemic.
These problems apply to both the quality of recruits and motivation for the service that is increasingly reduced due to social and organizational factors. "According to the first half of the year, about 40,000 people were transferred to the Armed Forces within different units. At the same time, the official number of unauthorized parts (HSF) is about 100,000 people, and the real figure is probably much higher.
This indicates a serious problem which complicate the effective management of personnel, ”says Lutsenko Focus. In particular, according to the serviceman, the Army+Program, which would facilitate the transfer of servicemen between units, faces numerous obstacles. In places, its implementation is often blocked by illegal methods, which only aggravates the situation. Without the possibility of flexible transfer and proper support, soldiers simply lose their motivation and simply leave the service.
If it were not for this program, the scale of the problem would be larger. "Even brigades that actively advertise their activities and are considered elite are faced with difficulties. The quality of recruits is significantly reduced. Many do not have sufficient preparation or motivation that affects the overall efficiency of the units," the serviceman said. This phenomenon Lutsenko explains social inequality that is deeply rooted in society.
The property and status qualification allows representatives of the highest social strata to avoid military service, and this is perceived as a norm even in progressive circles. This situation demoralizes ordinary citizens who are forced to carry the main burden of war. According to a serviceman, while the elite avoids participating in hostilities, more and more ordinary people choose the path of desertion.
This creates a closed circle: the lack of skilled personnel weakens the army, and demotivation among personnel only deepens the crisis. For comparison, Lutsenko notes that the official amount of infantry, which is on the front, is less than 100 thousand people, which is less than the number of HRS. This emphasizes the scale of the problem, because the real number of those who actually perform combat missions are much lower than declared.
To change the situation, Lutsenko proposes to eliminate bureaucratic and illegal obstacles to implement programs such as "Army+". Secondly, society should review their attitude to military service so that it is perceived as a duty for all, regardless of social status. Without the participation of all segments of the population in the war, including the ruling class, motivation among servicemen will continue to fall, and the losses of personnel will increase.
It should be reminded that the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second reading and as a whole a law that allows citizens of 60 years of age to voluntarily sign contracts for military service. The focus found out if the 60+ people would be beneficial at the front and what the military themselves think about it. Focus also wrote that in Ukraine, 145. 2 thousand men of conscription do not work, do not have disabilities and do not serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.