Ukraine must prepare a powerful mobilization reserve involving young men and women aged 18 and over. Military commentator and retired major Oleksiy Getman stated this on the air of the Kyiv24 TV channel. According to him, the country needs to have a large reserve prepared in peacetime that can quickly take up arms in the event of a new threat.
Hetman emphasized that young people should undergo basic military training and clearly know their actions in the event of hostilities:
" We need a reserve, because this is a very important issue. We must create reserves, which should include young men and women over the age of 18... If hostilities begin in peacetime, they must know where to come and where the weapons are ."
The expert cited Switzerland as an example, where every citizen has an action plan in case of an attack on the country, and the state is able to mobilize up to three million people within a few days. To this end, there is a system of regular training and shooting exercises.
Hetman emphasized that the current size of the Ukrainian army — about a million — is sufficient in wartime, but after victory it is impractical to maintain such a large force.
“ In peacetime, an army of 600-800 thousand is not needed. This is a huge cost of maintenance, as well as a problem with training grounds — we do not have enough space to train hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the same time ,” the retired major noted.
He noted that proposals for a “fixed army size of 600,000” in the future look dubious and may even be a “Russian trick.” In his opinion, Ukraine should focus on creating a large reserve that can be instantly mobilized in case of danger.
" The army should not paint curbs in peacetime. We don't need that much army — we need a reserve ," Hetman concluded.
