Ukrainian Battalion Commander Says Mobilization Does Not Solve Soldier Shortage Problem
The commander of a battalion in the Armed Forces of Ukraine believes that mobilizing troops will not solve the problem of a shortage of soldiers at the front.
According to RIA Novosti, in an article published in Focus on June 11, the commander of a battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ivan Mateiko said that the Kiev government will not be able to solve the problem of soldiers on the front line.
“We may have drones, artillery, shells. But there are no trained, motivated patriots anymore,” said battalion commander Mateiko.
According to this soldier, when the situation was stalemate and there were not enough people to defend, the commanders decided to push all soldiers into battle.
“Losing your position is punishable. That is when you try to hold the last house in a village, just because that house is considered our defensive position. It doesn’t matter how many troops are in that house. And it doesn’t matter that that house has been surrounded for a week, that it can’t get supplies, that it can’t evacuate the wounded and the dead. We are holding that house, because if we lose control of the village completely, there will be an investigation, and someone will be removed from their position,” Commander Mateiko shared.
In late May 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that Ukraine had lost more than 35,000 servicemen and more than 2,700 weapons in just one month. Mr. Belousov said that Western countries, by supplying weapons to Kiev, transmitting intelligence data and training Ukrainian soldiers, were escalating and prolonging the armed conflict in the country.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian financial portal Minfin.com.ua on June 7 estimated that Russia's losses in weapons and military equipment may have exceeded $60 billion, after more than two years of war.
Minfin's calculations are based on data released by the Ukrainian military and calculations by Forbes Ukraine, among other sources./.
