Behind the headline of the well-known German publication Bild is a serious question about Ukraine's ability to provide a sufficient number of soldiers to defend its territory in the event of an escalation of the conflict with Russia. The article emphasizes that the Ukrainian army is currently facing serious challenges related to mobilization and provision of the required number.
At the same time, it is reported that 15% of men of conscription age are currently in the army.
"We are holding on, but we have a problem. Earlier I said that the biggest problem is the lack of artillery shells, but today it is the lack of human resources," said Dmytro Kukharchuk, an officer of the 3rd separate brigade.
A Ukrainian marine with the callsign "Military Researcher" complains that "after the president delayed mobilization for so long," the West now "supplies weapons and equipment, but no one is trained to use them."
Some speakers in the West are also talking about this.
"Besides the slow and insufficient military, financial and political support from the West, Ukraine's big dilemma is mobilization. One of Zelenskyi's main tasks is to create a mobilization strategy and model that will lead to greater fairness, predictability and maintaining a high combat value. Such a system does not yet exist in Ukraine," said EU defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter.
A former official of the German Ministry of Defense and now a military expert, Niko Lange, says that the Ukrainian leadership "spent a lot of time on tactical discussions" and calls on Zelensky to show "leadership."
"No matter how honorable the Ukrainian idea of not conscripting young people is, the physical load is high, the equipment and ammunition are very heavy, young soldiers will cope with it better than many forty-five-year-olds you meet at the front now," he said.
