Ukraine is in the midst of a grueling and grueling war against Russian aggression that has been going on for over 30 months. One of the most serious problems facing the Ukrainian army is a critical shortage of personnel, which is becoming increasingly apparent on the front lines. According to sources in The Guardian, the situation has reached such a level that the air defense (ADO) units, already stretched to the limit, are being forced to send their fighters to the infantry to replenish a number of infantry units.
“It’s reaching a critical level where we can’t be sure that the air defense will function properly… These people knew how the air defense works, some were trained in the West and had real skills. Now they are being sent to the front to fight, for which they have no training,” one of the sources said, fearing that the situation poses a risk to Ukraine’s security.
As noted, there are fears that these soldiers risk revealing important information if they are captured by the Russians at the front.
In addition, according to sources, the increasing demands for such transfers are making it difficult to properly manage air defense units.
“This has been going on for a year, but it’s getting worse and worse. I already have less than half [of the full strength] left. The commission has been coming in the last few days, and they want dozens more. I have those who are over 50 and wounded left,” said an officer working in the air defense system.
It is emphasized that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to lower the mobilization age to 18, the Ukrainian army is desperately trying to find enough people to fill the gaps at the front.
“The people we are getting now are not like those who were there at the beginning of the war. Recently we got 90 people, but only 24 of them were ready to go to the positions. The rest were old, sick or alcoholics. A month ago they were walking around Kyiv or the Dnieper, and now they are in the trenches and can barely hold a weapon. Poorly trained and poorly equipped,” said one soldier from the 114th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine.
Commenting on the possible lowering of the mobilization age, the fighter stated that 18-year-olds are still children:
"There are still enough people in Kyiv who can be mobilized, but they don't want to go.".
Lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine – Zelenskyy’s statement
Recall, as UNIAN previously wrote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine is not a priority, because the main task is to increase the technological capabilities of the army:
"We have a mobilization age of 25. That's how it was. We heard signals from some leaders that - let's lower the mobilization age. I believe that today - this is a dishonest conversation. And I said this publicly and not publicly to the leaders.".
