Kyiv plans major troop mobilization amid ongoing conflict

In 2024, Kyiv plans to draft approximately 550,000 recruits. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, announced that “this number has been significantly reduced.”

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This year, Ukraine plans to draft around 550,000 recruits, 330,000 of whom are to relieve soldiers currently serving at the front through rotations, reported the British newspaper “Financial Times” in mid-March.

“After reviewing our internal resources and clarifying the composition of the Armed Forces, this number has been significantly reduced. We expect to have a sufficient number of people capable of defending our country. We are talking not only about the mobilized but also about volunteers,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a conversation with the Ukrinform agency on Friday.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces emphasized that “it is important to remember that people are not robots.”

“They are physically and mentally exhausted. For example, individuals who joined the TCC (Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre) in February 2022 need rest and treatment. It’s enough to note that the 110th Brigade has been operating in the Avdiivka sector since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. They need to recover and rest, and this is an objective necessity. There are many such units,” he declared.

The military official noted that Kyiv “is verifying the number of certain units that are not engaged in combat operations, based on an audit of their activities.” “This allowed us to release thousands of soldiers and send them to combat units,” he explained.

At the same time, the Ukrainian general noted that “in all armies around the world, there is personnel who do not participate in combat operations but provide support to others.”

“This is an equally important part of the work. The war that we have to wage against the Russian invaders is a war of attrition, a logistical war. Therefore, the importance of the efficiency of rear units should not be underestimated. We are talking about the system of supplying troops with food and ammunition, repair units, medical facilities, and many others. These people contribute to the effectiveness of combat operations,” he declared.

Syrskyi emphasized that “citizens who join the army after mobilization are not immediately sent to the front line.”

“With very specific exceptions, for instance, when a person already has combat experience. However, the vast majority of these people first go to military training units. In February this year, the number of people participating in training accounted for 84 percent of the total number of mobilized people,” he summarized.

Source: Ukrinform/PAP