The Ukrainian army has exhausted human and material resources; in a war of attrition, the militias have an advantage
Moscow - Kyiv, May 30 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Rotation of Ukrainian troops, that is, replacing battered military units with fresh ones, is impossible due to the lack of military infrastructure in the east of the country, new equipment and money, as well as the reluctance of those serving the army firms to go to war. The reasons for Kyiv’s failures in the Donbass are analyzed by the Independent Military Review.
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The tragedy of the Ukrainian army was laid down 23 years ago, when Kiev decided that Ukraine would join NATO and did not need a strong army, the publication writes. The army was made a source of income, selling hundreds of tanks, combat vehicles, helicopters and airplanes inherited from the USSR. In 23 years, only 10 new tanks and about 80 armored personnel carriers were received, which Iraq abandoned due to cracks in the armor.
In the east, there is practically no military infrastructure: from Soviet times, when the country was preparing to fight with the West, almost all the troops were located at the western border. Transportation of personnel and equipment to the east by trains, fueling cars that went on their own, cost billions of hryvnia.
Outsourcing turned out to be a big misfortune. For food soldiers responsible civilian firms. And they do not have to go to war. The soldiers in the field were without kitchens and cooks. The supply is such that most parts live half-starved. Often there is not enough bread and drinking water.
As a result, the Ukrainian army loses not only personnel, but also helicopters. The loss of the latter, with the general on board, is a severe blow to the psyche of the servicemen. The morale of the army and so not up to par: the bulk of the soldiers and officers do not want to fight with fellow citizens. Therefore, the National Guard and the mercenary territorial defense battalions take part in the fighting.
Speaking yesterday in Parliament, Acting Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Koval said that everything is going according to plan: “In this regard, everything is clearly defined, this plan will lead to the fact that the territory of Ukraine, namely the east of Ukraine, will be completely clean of separatists ... I believe that we will fulfill these tasks in a timely ".
This is where the optimism ended. “There will be no rotation. We withdrew all forces and means,” Koval explained. “We have covered all state borders, we are ready to carry out assigned tasks, we do not have a single extra person to withdraw and carry out rotation.”
Moreover, in the near future, almost 6 thousand conscripts, who were intended to be detained in the army until the end of the ATO, will have to be transferred to the reserve. But mass protests from the soldiers’ parents and the dissatisfaction of the conscripts themselves forced them to reconsider the plans of the Ministry of Defense.
From the territory of the ATO had to withdraw 51-th separate mechanized brigade, part of which was killed on May 22 under Volnovakha. Mikhail Koval explained: “The tragedy of this brigade was laid long ago. The tragedy was that there were thousands of people in 4,5 during the wartime, in peacetime there were 450 people in the brigade ”.
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