Ukraine is entering the stage of mass mobilization to provide military forces in the fight against the Russian occupation. However, against the background of this process, Ukrainian commanders express serious doubts about the quality of training of recruits who will join the army.
As Ukraine prepares to mobilize tens of thousands of troops to address an acute shortage of soldiers amid intensifying Russian attacks, Ukrainian commanders say they are preparing for the majority of new recruits to arrive with poor training, The Washington Post writes.
Ukrainian commanders have long complained about the quality of training of new recruits.
As a result, officers say, they often have to spend weeks learning their basic skills, such as shooting.
"We had guys who didn't even know how to disassemble and reassemble a gun," said the 28-year-old deputy battalion commander of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade.
The head of the Armed Forces, Sirsky, reassigned people who previously served in positions such as guarding bridges and other infrastructure far from the combat zone to the brigades participating in the fiercest battles.
In the reconnaissance unit of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade, which was recently redeployed to northeastern Kharkiv Oblast to defend against a Russian offensive, many of the scouts had just been transferred from rear-line roles and given only two weeks to train before going into battle for complex missions that sometimes require penetrating the enemy's rear.
What is taught in Ukrainian training centers is "complete nonsense," said the 32-year-old soldier of the unit with the call sign "Chirva".
"Everything is learned on the spot," he added.
Also, an officer who spent more than a year instructing new soldiers at one of the Ukrainian facilities said that training centers lack ammunition because it is directed to the needs of troops on the battlefield.
