Battered forces are serving longer at the front
Ukraine’s problem is not so much a shortage of personnel but how they are managed and deployed, said military analyst Taras Chmut, who also heads Come Back Alive, a charity providing assistance to the army.
Increasing the number of personnel in the defense forces does not necessarily increase their effectiveness, Chmut said.
Exhaustion, poor organization, inadequate training and the lack of a clear end-of-service date drive recruits to desert, according to soldiers and military analysts.
The consequences are felt immediately at the front, with fewer troops to replace battered units or available for emergencies, and a diminished ability to divert forces when an opening appears. Drones can sometimes alleviate the shortages.
With replacements scarce, some troops have spent up to a year at the front with little opportunity for rotation, said Afer, the deputy commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion. His unit is operating at only about half its strength while its area of responsibility has doubled, he said, meaning the same number of forces must defend about twice the territory.
Ideally, at least twice as many men are needed simply to hold current positions, but that doesn’t take into account that a constant reserve of troops is needed to replace casualties, he said.
It’s also a struggle to find qualified specialists who can operate increasingly sophisticated equipment on the battlefield, Afer said, adding that troops “who know how to think” are in short supply.