Military officials and experts named specific steps that will attract citizens to mobilize and help replenish the Ukrainian army.
In Ukraine, they started talking about increasing mobilization in order to replenish reserves to confront an enemy that has a significant advantage in manpower. Politicians, military men and experts advocate this. At the same time, the issue of the problems and shortcomings of conscription into the army does not go unnoticed, as Time wrote in particular and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny spoke about.
TSN.ua collected the opinions of military men, politicians and experts on the strengthening of mobilization in Ukraine.
Strengthening mobilization in Ukraine – why and what to expect
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, in his column for The Economist, advocated for Ukraine to expand the category of citizens who can be called up for mobilization or training. The general named five priorities to turn the tide at the front, including the need to build up reserves.
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“We are introducing a unified register of conscripts, we must expand the category of citizens who can be called up for training or mobilization. We are also introducing “combat training,” which provides for the placement of newly mobilized people in the ranks of experienced advanced units for training,” Zaluzhny wrote in the material.
Note that Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov announced launch of a pilot version of smart mobilization in Ukraine. This innovation will allow a person to independently choose the military specialization for which he wants to mobilize. Fedorov also assured that this project does not provide for the receipt of subpoenas through Diya.
In addition, Ukraine already has a single electronic register of persons liable for military service “Oberig”, the purpose of which is to digitize information about citizens and automate the work of TCC and SP. Such high-quality data will allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the commander-in-chief to make management decisions – how many people to mobilize, who is needed in the army, and so on. Subpoenas are not expected to be received through Oberig.
Let us note that today the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky is considering a law adopted by parliament that reduces the mobilization age from 27 to 25 years, which will allow more people to be drafted into the army. However, the head of state is in no hurry to sign the document.
At the end of October, Ukrainian People’s Deputy, member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, Sergei Rakhmanin, noted that the current war already has all the characteristics of a so-called “war of attrition.” This is always war of resources and one of the most important is mobilization.
“Now, as far as I understand, there will be an additional need for resources due to losses of personnel (due to those killed and wounded during combat operations), and, possibly, due to the need to form new formations, new brigades,” he said Rakhmanin.
Former Deputy Chief of the General Staff, retired Lieutenant General Igor Romanenko said in a commentary for TSN.ua that there are objective laws of war, which mean: If you do not have enough modern weapons and equipment, you can defend yourself with manpower – soldiers.
“Weapons are supplied in parts and we do not have enough of them. Therefore, we are straining and restoring our military-industrial complex and are trying to produce weapons ourselves as quickly as possible, but this is not yet enough to provide full security. Therefore, we have one option – living military force. And its supplies to the army directly depend on the mobilization and organization of this work,” Romanenko explained.
What the military themselves say about increased mobilization
Military psychologist and officer of the 67th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrey Kozinchuk said in a commentary to TSN.ua that the next wave of mobilization is now very necessary.
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“The need for fresh forces at the front is enormous – we are already running out. People in war, unfortunately, die, and there are also wounded. Personally, right now, with an injury, I am not in the army, but in the hospital, and someone is doing my job instead of me.” work. We need fresh forces at the front. Those who remain are tired, exhausted, with shell shock,” Kozinchuk explained.
Will there be changes in mobilization after Zaluzhny’s article?
According to expert, head of the Center for Military Legal Studies Alexander Musienko, a decision to strengthen mobilization in Ukraine can be made upon receipt of military assistance from international partners.
“If appropriate assistance is received for mobilization, then strengthening is possible. If not, then it is unlikely,” the expert said.
He also noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine alone will not be able to defeat the enemy army through the number of personnel, since Russia has a much larger human resource, that is, it has the ability to mobilize many more people.
Problems with mobilization and reserves in Ukraine
Problems with mobilization in Ukraine are discussed in a sensational article in an American publication Timewhich caused an emotional reaction from society. The material says that now recruitment of fighters into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has slowed down significantly compared to the start of a full-scale war. It is indicated that Zelensky’s large-scale dismissal of military commissars in response to high-profile corruption scandals.
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The author of the article also argued that the TCC and SP were forced to call up an older generation of men, raising the average age of a soldier to 43 years.
“They are already grown men, and they are not so healthy. This is Ukraine. Not Scandinavia,” emphasized one of Zelensky’s aides, whose name was not indicated.
The Time article was commented on by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Alexey Danilov, who argued that problems with conscription may arise over time, but as long as the number of people in the security and defense sector does not decrease.
“As for conscription, the number of people who are in the security and defense sector is not decreasing. Will there be problems? This is a question that may arise over time. How big they will be, how they can influence certain things, we will see then,” Danilov said.
Zaluzhny also raised the topic of problems with mobilization in Ukraine in his column. According to him, despite the constant work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces command to improve the procedure for creating and training reserves, some issues remain problematic.
“In particular, we have limited the possibility of training reserves on our own territory, since the enemy has the ability to launch missile and air strikes on training centers and training grounds,” the general said.
He noted that the protracted nature of the war significantly reduces the motivation of citizens to serve in the army, limited opportunities for rotation of soldiers on the contact line and gaps in legislation that allow legal evasion of mobilization. According to Zaluzhny, all this leads to “the lack of Ukraine’s ability to achieve an advantage over the enemy in reserves by increasing their number.”
People’s Deputy, Secretary of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Roman Kostenko agreed with Zaluzhny.
“There are indeed many gaps in the legislation, which citizens often use in order to either not go to military service, to evade it, or already in the process, if they have entered military service, they use it in order to leave it. There are many moments. When there is someone with a disability, people are fired. For example, there are cases when they divorce their wives and then marry those who have a disability group“, said the people’s deputy.
Rakhmanin said in October that the military was complaining about problems with rotations, but now physically there is no possibility for full brigade rotations, because there is simply not enough mobilization resource. The People’s Deputy said that in such conditions, brigades are withdrawn for 2-3 weeks to the second or third front line in order to rest a little, minimally replenish personnel and weapons, and then are again brought to the line of combat.
“By and large, everyone who wanted to voluntarily go (to the front – ed.), they have already ended,” Rakhmanin added.
How to fix mobilization problems: what needs to change
Military analyst, ATO veteran and ex-company commander in the Aidar battalion Yevgeny Dikiy said that “a big mobilization cannot be avoided,” but people need to be given clear terms for their stay in the army and carry out demobilization fighting from the first days.
“A year and a half of this war is a big burden. But if there is a decision that in half a year the combatants will go home from the first days, that’s right. They can be replaced,” says Dikiy.
In his opinion, clear demobilization deadlines allowed people to understand how long they would be at the front, and this would help the state speed up mobilization.
“This affects the motivation of those who need to be mobilized. Few people are willing to buy a one-way ticket, even volunteers,” the veteran explained.
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The military analyst also noted that very often people do not want to join the army, fearing that they will become “meat” because of a bad commander. Therefore, conscripts they must be given the right to choose the military unit in which they want to serve. And the TCC and SP must take into account the civil life of the mobilized, in particular, their work experience.
“The screws need to be tightened, but after the steps we talked about. We need to criminalize evasion of military records,” Dikiy added.
According to Romanenko, “everyone should come to the defense of the state,” including women liable for military service. To do this, you will first need to count 100% of all men aged 18 to 60 years. Otherwise, falsification, corruption and other negative phenomena will begin.
“During martial law every citizen 18 years of age or older must carry a passport with an insert or mark indicating how this citizen is involved in the defense of the state, information about health status, availability of deferment, information about marital status. Then there will be no questions that the staff of the acquisition center somehow stopped this person in the wrong place,” the expert believes.
In the context of solving mobilization problems, Kozinchuk believes that the “not entirely correct vector of the government” should be changed.
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“Somewhere here they are just trying to scare civilians. They are shouting to them that you are all bastards, assholes, not patriots, hiding behind your mother’s skirt ! Anu all run to the front! This is wrong and does not motivate people one bit. It is necessary to show all the advantages of military service, and I am convinced that they are there. It is true to show that it is in the army that a person truly self-actualizes,” explained the military psychologist.
He added that Before mobilization, civilians should receive some specifics: where exactly the person goes to serve, what position he will hold and how long he will serve.
“The phrase “until the end of the special period” means nothing, because the unknown simply gives rise to outright fear. (…) People are afraid that they will be forced to do something they cannot, and this is a big problem,” Kozinchuk said.
In addition, it is necessary to change internal communication directly in the army: “there should be no such thing as a commander shouting at a subordinate, there should be horizontal communications.” There should also be regular rotations.
“A person should be given more specifics and, I am convinced, people will go, even if these specifics are cruel. They need to be told firmly: yes, it will be scary, but we guarantee you that your service will last a maximum of a year, of which three months – This is training, and you will return home. And upon your return, you will receive huge benefits, specific ones – this and that. This motivates people much more,” the officer of the 67th Mechanized Infantry Brigade concluded.
According to military expert at the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Igor Koziy, Ukraine should introduce the position of military ombudsman, to which fighters could complain about shortcomings in the system.
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2023-11-05 10:36:12
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