In early December, Ukrainian soldier Mykola discovered he could be redeployed to the front line in eastern Ukraine to confront Russian advances.
“The deployment focuses on those who voluntarily joined the air defense forces and air forces in 2022”says Mykola, who is part of the logistics staff of an air defense unit. His name and location have not been released for security reasons.
“My commander told me that the General Staff needed a certain number of men on the front lines, but he did not give further details”he explains to Euronews. Mykola states, however, that his unit received an order requiring 30% of its troops to be sent to the front line in the Russian-occupied Donetsk regionOr the fighting is intensifying.
The number of people who can be sent to the front lines is limited, as women, elderly men and soldiers with health problems are generally exempt. To respond to the redeployment order, Mykola says his unit’s commanders first called for volunteers.
“Then they select those who are not motivated to complete their tasks or who do not work. Some commanders take this opportunity to get rid of people they don’t like”he adds.
Mykola heard that soldiers would receive only brief combat training, or none at all if redeployment is urgent. This possibility worries Mykola, who only joined the army last year.
The young soldier explains that he has decided to join the Ukrainian army in the summer of 2023 to defend his country. At the time, men who enlisted voluntarily could, to a certain extent, choose their unit.
Mykola decides to join the air force, wanting to help protect his fellow citizens against Russian missile attacks. Alongside his comrades, he then received basic air defense training.
Redeployment of rear-front units
As the situation on the front line in Donetsk Oblast becomes increasingly critical, Ukraine is forced to send more troops to the region, including air defense and rear-front troops.
Mykola told Euronews thathe has not received any information on the date of his redeployment to Donetsk, nor on the infantry unit he will have to joinexplaining that his unit commander was trying to convince high-ranking officials to reduce the number of men from his brigade deployed to the front line.
At the beginning of the year, around 10% of the men in Mykola’s unit were sent to the front. Most were killed in action or returned seriously injured. Shortly after, another wave of men was sent to the front, he explains.
“They need people, so they take them from any unit”explains Mykola, adding that these soldiers have spent years learning to use these air defense systems and therefore are not easily replaceable.
The young soldier has the impression that the Ukrainian army no longer values human life, which explains, according to him, why so many Ukrainians desert the army or flee the country.
Mykola enlisted in the Air Force with the intention of remaining with his unit until the end of the war. But soldiers can now be sent to infantry brigades without regard to their level of training and experience, or what they signed up for.
“In 2022, you had a choice of which unit or brigade you wanted to join, and they focused on your skills”he explains. “They valued people who could contribute something useful. This is no longer the case”.
Defend all fronts
In the first months of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked his Western allies to create a no-fly zone over Ukrainein which fighter jets would be deployed to prevent Russian forces from bombing Ukrainian cities.
For fear of reprisals from Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO did not grant this request, but promised to support the country’s war efforts with military assistance. Since then, Volodymyr Zelensky has been advocating for air defense systems such as Patriots or IRIS-T.
Defense of the skies is not Ukraine’s only challenge, because Russian ground troops are advancing in Donetsk, steadily gaining ground towards strategic strongholds, such as the city of Pokrovska major logistics center for Ukrainian forces.
According to local media, Russian forces intensify efforts to strengthen their positions and launch attacks in the southeastern outskirts of Pishchanea village located just over 9 kilometers from Pokrovsk.
“Currently, units of our troops are taking measures to improve the tactical position”indicated the Khortytsia military district on Telegram.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, also announced at the end of November deliveries of additional ammunition, weapons and equipment to forces stationed near Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Losses on Ukraine’s eastern front lines have been partly attributed to a shortage of personnel. Volodymyr Zelensky lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25 this year, but opposed lowering it to 18as recently proposed by the United States.
In a recent interview with Le Monde, Olena Tregub, executive director of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission in Kyiv, said recruitment had slowed to 15,000 to 20,000 troops per month, with many experienced soldiers having been killed or injured.
“These transfers are very painful”
Yurii Ihnat, head of the public relations department of the Ukrainian Air Force command, confirmed the redeployment of personnel from the Air Force and other units to the infantry.
“Yes, I can confirm that this is the case. These transfers are very painful for the air forces and, of course, it has some impact on the overall situation. But this decision is necessary, we must implement it, and you understand why”he said on Facebook.
Yurii Ihnat, on the other hand, disputes accusations that Russian drone interceptions have declined, saying that all defense forces – the air force, ground forces, navy and border guards – were involved in the shootdown. drones.
“Ukraine will survive”
Ukraine’s Western partners continue to provide military aid to the country, but this has resulted in long debates on the fear of crossing one of the many “red lines” brandished as threats by Vladimir Putin since the start of the conflict.
“In Ukraine, we do not believe in these red lines”says Mykola.
In Germany, for example, the debate around the Taurus cruise missiles is intensifying during this period of the electoral campaign for next early elections.
At a recent German government meeting, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was quoted as saying: “Ukraine will survive, be alive and strong – and there must be a peace that ends the killings”.
According to the German daily Bild Zeitung, the chancellor, however, would have reiterated his refusal to provide long-range weapons for strikes inside Russian territory.
Recently, Volodymyr Zelensky said frontline rotations were hampered by lack of equipment in reserve brigadeswhich forced exhausted Ukrainian troops to retreat.
Highly qualified and experienced soldiers are being redeployed to reserve units, but these brigades are not equipped quickly enough, as Ukraine is slow to receive military aid from its Western partners, says Volodymyr Zelensky.
Euronews contacted the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to inquire about sending air defense forces to the front lines, but did not receive a response before publication of this article.
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