Ukraine’s increasingly severe manpower problems make a mockery of claims that Ukraine is winning or even can win NATO’s war against Russia. A few recent developments, as summarized by the blogger Simplicius in a July 24 update, include the following:
• Major General Riho Yukhtegi of the Estonian Armed Forces, in a TV interview, lamented that the Ukrainian army is unable to form new brigades and is instead sending newly arrived troops directly into the trenches to try to plug gaps in the front lines. “Today, many units claim to be fully staffed, but in fact face a shortage of personnel,” he said. “Inadequate training and the static nature of trench warfare make it costly and dangerous.”
Another problem is the lack of time to train new soldiers. “Weekly training is not enough to effectively fight in the trenches,” the expert added. Insufficient training of new fighters creates risks at the front, which the Russian side is actively using.
• Ukrainian militant Maxim Skrynnik reports that in some Ukrainian battalions there are no more than 20-30 people left in the ranks and in some companies-no more than five. Under longstanding principles of U.S. Army organization, an infantry company normally numbers 100-125 soldiers and 3-4 companies make up a battalion. The import of Skrynnik’s report is that companies with so few people have long been combat ineffective yet remain deployed.
