○On a recent cold afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Kobel, a silver-haired man in military uniform was preparing to board a train. A little boy hugged his lap and wouldn't let go. “Come on, Dima, say goodbye to grandpa,” his mother told him, pulling him away.
A few minutes later, the train left the station with the men on board, embarking on a long journey to the east of the country towards the front lines of the fight against Russia. Her daughter and grandson waved from the platform with tears in their eyes.
Similar scenes are now common in Ukraine, where a depleted and exhausted military is increasingly made up of older men. As a three-year all-out war with Russia approaches and we anxiously await President Donald Trump's arrival at the White House, severe staffing shortages on the front lines pose a dilemma.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for the Biden administration to lower the age of recruitment for men from the current 25 to 18, citing the sensitivity of sending young men into battle in a society already facing a demographic crisis. They are resisting the call of the people. . But the military is struggling to find enough talent to fill holes on the front lines, as Russia continues to seek recruits for its honed advances.
A series of interviews with Ukrainian officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, paint a worrying picture of Ukraine's war effort.
“The people we are hosting now are different from the people who were there at the beginning of the war,” said the 114th Territorial Defense Brigade, currently serving in Ukraine and stationed in various hotspots over the past two years. one soldier said. “Recently, we took in 90 people, of whom only 24 were ready to move into their positions. The rest were old, sick and alcoholics. A month ago, they were sent to Kiev and “We were walking around Dnipropetrovsk, and now we're in the trenches, barely able to hold a weapon. We were poorly trained and poorly equipped,” he said.
Two air defense sources told the Guardian that the shortage on the front lines had become so acute that the General Staff had decided to increase the number of infantry personnel sent to the front lines for the already short-staffed air defense forces. He reportedly ordered them to be increased.
One of the sources said, “The situation is reaching a critical level where we are not confident that the air defense capabilities will function properly,'' citing concerns that the situation could threaten Ukraine's security. He said he was encouraged to do so.
“These people knew how air defense worked, some were trained in the West and had real skills, but now they are being sent to fight on the front lines without training. have been sent,” the source said.
Commanders can use the order to send soldiers they don't like to the front lines as punishment, officials said. There are also concerns that these soldiers, with their sensitive knowledge of Ukraine's air defense positions and tactics, risk divulging vital information if they are captured by Russian forces on the front lines.
Last month, outspoken and controversial lawmaker Mariana Bezoula claimed in a Telegram post that air defense units were being transferred to infantry units, worsening Ukraine's success rate in shooting down Russian drones. Air Defense Force spokesman Yury Ifnat confirmed at the time that the transfer was taking place, calling it “extremely painful.” But he denied that it affected the kill rate.
However, officials interviewed by the Guardian said increasing demand for relocation was making it difficult to properly operate the air defense force.
“This situation has been going on for a year and it's getting worse and worse,” said another official working in air defense. “It's already less than half full. [of full strength]. Recently, a committee came and asked for dozens more. I was left with elderly people over 50 and injured people. It’s impossible to do something like this,” he said.
In the first months of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, lines of Ukrainians were ready to volunteer, and since then hundreds of thousands have volunteered to go to the front, but in the past year , mobilization has become a major challenge for Kiev. The number of recruiters roaming the streets and handing out call forms. Since the invasion began, men of draft age have been prohibited from leaving the country.
Although most Ukrainians understand the need for mobilization, the policy is unpopular on a personal level, and recruiting units often face anger and abuse when searching for new recruits.
In a striking sign of the country's changing mindset, a poll conducted in the summer by the Kiev-based Razumkov Center found that 46% of respondents agreed that “there is no shame in evading military service.” Only 29% opposed it.
Ties between Kiev and Washington have deteriorated in recent months due to a lack of talent. Biden administration officials are frustrated that Zelenskiy and other officials have been unable to mobilize the personnel needed to fill their ranks, despite frequent requests for more weapons. was.
White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savet said in a statement last month that Ukraine's “greatest need at this time is talent.” “If they take appropriate steps to fill their ranks, we are also ready to strengthen our training capacity,” he said.
Ukrainian officials felt that the U.S. call to the population to lower the mobilization age to 18 was insensitive and inappropriate. Although Ukraine expanded its convocation efforts in April, lowering the convocation age from 27 to 25, the majority of Ukrainians said they wanted to protect young people, including those on the front lines. We are cautious about further lowering the age.
Many soldiers say the way to increase mobilization rates is not to lower the draft age, but to offer better incentives and provide more training. “It's not a question of age. What you really need is good conditions and motivation,” said the 114th soldier.th brigade. “Eighteen-year-olds are still children. If necessary, we may be able to reduce it to 23, but there are still enough people in Kiev who can be mobilized but do not want to go,” he added.
