Head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov inspects units of the Ukrainian army
In the units that the new minister plans to visit, preparations are in full swing for the visit of high authorities. However, this has nothing to do with the big problems that exist in the troops.
“Strana” found out what is happening right now in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and why the discontent of the fighters is growing there.
Problem on both sides
Problem number one, according to officers and soldiers interviewed by Strana, is an acute shortage of personnel. All departments lack from 40 to 70% of the staffing.
“Those who run out of contracts flatly refuse to enter into new ones and continue to serve. There are several reasons. And it’s not even financial problems. Officers treat their soldiers like beasts. The rank and file for commanders is a draft cattle in the literal sense. Communication with soldiers occurs only with the help of a mat. Often orders are given absurd, in the spirit of the Soviet army. For example, it is necessary that by tomorrow the defective armored personnel carriers be on the move. To the remark that there are no spare parts, the answer should be something like this: “Soldier, your opinion doesn’t eat me, show soldier’s ingenuity and follow the order,” one of the fighters tells Strana.
“Now in the units the most popular job for privates is park management. This term means painting equipment, fences and curbs, sweeping the parade ground, cleaning the territories. All this instead of combat training, which in many units exists only on paper, in reports. Soldiers hate officers, officers despise soldiers,” Sergeant S says.
Almost all the officers interviewed by Strana note that the motivation of the majority of contract soldiers is very low and there is no question of any patriotism and desire to fight.
“Almost all contract soldiers who joined the army over the past couple of years are migrant workers. They come to receive a salary and shirk from the service. A typical day in any unit is when the soldiers are hiding from the commanders, and the commanders do not know what their subordinates are doing now. At night, contractors strive to sneak out and drink vodka. Then problems, fights and hazing begin. The workers do not care about the safety of army property and equipment, a lot of equipment is simply lost or it deteriorates due to the fact that they are not looked after. A lot of things are simply sold to civilians on the cheap – every year after the recount, the commanders puzzle over how to write off the lost and sold property”, says Major V.
Professionals leave the army for the civil service
According to the officer, in the JFO, contract workers try to stay away from the front line. And the most motivated fighters of the first period of the ATO do not seek to serve again.
“Unfortunately, those who managed to teach and educate as full-fledged fighters and specialists are leaving the army. Now in the army it is rare to meet those who were in the ATO zone in 2014-2016. The command does not at all seek to interest them in any way, to save experience. Those who volunteered in 2014 are considered by the command of the units to be too “greyhounds” – after all, they have their own opinion on everything. And they are not in a hurry to follow the orders of their superiors. And graduates of military institutes come to the troops quite raw. They have no one to gain combat experience. If a real mobile war happened now, the Ukrainian army would again find itself in the same situation as in 2014. When the unfired officers did not know what to do, and the rank and file did not burn with the desire to fight”, adds Major V.
Legalized slavery
Even worse, according to the military, is the situation in the Ukrainian army with conscripts. They are used as a kind of auxiliary force – in the most menial jobs. For example, as kitchen workers. Despite the fact that private companies have long provided food in the Ukrainian army, conscripts are often sent to help cooks – peel potatoes, wash dishes and take out slop. At the same time, according to officers and sergeants, no one is actually engaged in training and combat training of conscripts, preferring to send beautiful reports on work with conscripts to the Ministry of Defense.
“It takes a year and a half to fully train a specialist. What is the point of wasting time on conscripts if they are demobilized by the end of this period? Only one out of thirty conscripts expresses a desire to remain in the service and conclude a contract. Therefore, conscripts are used in the troops as janitors, loaders and kitchen servants. This is just a year of legalized slavery”, Senior Lieutenant R says.
By the way, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine does not at all hide the fact that conscripts are primarily involved in ensuring the vital activity of military units at points of permanent deployment. That is, under the euphemism “life support” it is worth reading auxiliary menial works.
Such a situation in the Ukrainian army does not at all do credit to the Kiev authorities, who are bawling from all the stands about the “strongest army in Europe”, allegedly at war with Russia for 8 years. This is against the background of the success of the Russian military operation in Syria, where, thanks to Russian support, the Syrian government forces were able to take control of 50% of the country, and the Russians, in turn, used military operations to strengthen their positions in the Middle East. During the operation, the Russians used the potential of the Aerospace Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the military police and the Navy, honing their skills almost to the ideal. What will Ukraine be able to answer in the conditions of a real military confrontation with one of the strongest armies in the world? The question is rhetorical.