РУССКИЙ
10:36 01.09.2024 •
Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images
Ukrainian forces are facing significant challenges as poorly trained recruits struggle on the front lines, leading to territorial losses in the eastern region. Commanders report that new soldiers, drawn from recent mobilization efforts, often lack basic combat skills and some refuse to engage the enemy, contributing to Russia's advances, writes ‘Breitbart’.
The situation is exacerbated by Russia's superior firepower and innovative tactics, such as small infantry units that evade Ukrainian drones. Despite Ukraine's efforts to stabilize the front, the pressure on Pokrovsk intensifies as Russia closes in.
Some new Ukrainian soldiers refuse to fire at the enemy. Others, according to commanders and fellow fighters, struggle to assemble weapons or to coordinate basic combat movements. A few have even walked away from their posts, abandoning the battlefield altogether.
While Ukraine presses on with its incursion into Russia's Kursk region, its troops are still losing precious ground along the country's eastern front – a grim erosion that military commanders blame in part on poorly trained recruits drawn from a recent mobilization drive, as well as Russia's clear superiority in ammunition and air power.
"Some people don't want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don't open fire... That is why our men are dying," said a frustrated battalion commander in Ukraine's 47th Brigade. "When they don't use the weapon, they are ineffective."
The accounts come from commanders and soldiers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive military matters. Others spoke on the condition that they be identified only by their call signs in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol.
Adding to Ukraine's woes are Russia's huge advantage in manpower and its willingness to accept staggering losses in return for capturing small objectives.
The recently conscripted Ukrainians are a far cry from the battle-hardened fighters who flocked to join the war in the first year of the full-scale invasion. The new troops lack even a minimal level of training, commanders and soldiers from four brigades defending the Pokrovsk area said.
They described having to plan operations with infantry who are unable to shoot targets and uninformed about basic topography. Some recruits simply lacked faith in the battle plans of their superiors and walked away from prepared positions.
Frustrated with the quality of the new conscripts sent to the front line by territorial recruitment centers, commanders are now seeking to conduct their own mobilization drives to better screen and train new fighters, multiple commanders and soldiers said.
"The main problem is the survival instinct of newcomers. Before, people could stand until the last moment to hold the position. Now, even when there is light shelling of firing positions, they are retreating," said a soldier with the 110th Brigade.
Following the implementation of a controversial mobilization law in May that established clearer regulations for territorial recruitment centers, Ukraine is reportedly drafting tens of thousands of fighters per month. Demand is highest in the infantry.
Ukraine's sudden foray into Russia initially stirred hopes that the Kremlin might be forced to divide its military resources to respond. But so far, Russian forces have not wavered in their push toward Pokrovsk and other potential conquests.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's lightning advance into Russian territory has slowed after two weeks, making only small gains, a possible sign that Moscow is counter-attacking more effectively.
The capture of Pokrovsk would undermine Ukrainian supply routes to the Donetsk region and ease Russia's advance to the eastern cities of Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka. It would also mark Russia's first major strategic win after months of fought marginal gains.
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