Ukraine’s military will need to mobilize fewer people than initially expected to fend off Russia’s two-year-old invasion, Ukraine’s top general has said.
In December 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his military had proposed mobilizing up to 500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces as Russia stepped up its attacks along the 1,000-km (621-mile) front line.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was appointed last month, said in an interview with Ukrainian media that the figure had been “significantly reduced” after a review of resources.
He did not name a new figure.
In the interview published on Friday, he told the Ukrinform news agency: “We expect that we will have enough people capable of defending their motherland.
“I am talking not only about the mobilized but also about volunteer fighters.”
Ukraine’s mobilization effort has been hobbled by waning enthusiasm and reports of corruption and abuse at draft offices. A bill that would allow officials to call up more troops is currently winding its way through parliament.
Syrskyi added that an audit of non-combat units had allowed military planners to send “thousands” of service members to the front and that those combat-support roles were “equally important” in Kyiv’s defense effort.
“The war that we are forced to wage against the Russian invaders is a war of attrition, a war of logistics,” he said. “Therefore, the importance of the effectiveness of rear units cannot be underestimated.”
The former ground forces chief also said “powerful” defensive lines were being prepared “in almost all threatening areas” as Russia keeps up its attacks.
Moscow captured the eastern city of Avdiivka in mid-February following a months-long assault that outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian defenders.
In the Ukrinform interview, Syrskyi said his forces would have “definitely” kept their positions if Kyiv had received more ammunition and air defense capabilities from its Western partners.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was appointed last month, said in an interview with Ukrainian media that the figure had been “significantly reduced” after a review of resources.
He did not name a new figure.
In the interview published on Friday, he told the Ukrinform news agency: “We expect that we will have enough people capable of defending their motherland.
“I am talking not only about the mobilized but also about volunteer fighters.”
Ukraine’s mobilization effort has been hobbled by waning enthusiasm and reports of corruption and abuse at draft offices. A bill that would allow officials to call up more troops is currently winding its way through parliament.
Syrskyi added that an audit of non-combat units had allowed military planners to send “thousands” of service members to the front and that those combat-support roles were “equally important” in Kyiv’s defense effort.
“The war that we are forced to wage against the Russian invaders is a war of attrition, a war of logistics,” he said. “Therefore, the importance of the effectiveness of rear units cannot be underestimated.”
The former ground forces chief also said “powerful” defensive lines were being prepared “in almost all threatening areas” as Russia keeps up its attacks.
Moscow captured the eastern city of Avdiivka in mid-February following a months-long assault that outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian defenders.
In the Ukrinform interview, Syrskyi said his forces would have “definitely” kept their positions if Kyiv had received more ammunition and air defense capabilities from its Western partners.
Source: Reuters
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