The Ukrainian military is suffering from a shortage of soldiers, commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi says.
“We need to increase the number of our mechanised brigades,” he said on the radio.
“But the mobilisation capacity is unfortunately not sufficient to cover this need.”
In order to boost the frontline forces, Syrskyi said that personnel are being withdrawn from logistics, supply and maintenance “within reasonable limits” in order to fill gaps and set up new units.
Syrskyi’s statement was prompted by complaints from air force units that highly qualified personnel were being re-deployed on the fronts.
Army leadership had put a stop to these efforts, Syrskyi said.
Those soldiers are experienced specialists “who cannot be replaced by anyone”.
Ukraine is suffering from a lack of personnel for the frontline troops, partly due to the conscription age for reservists.
Although all men must complete basic military service from the age of 18, soldiers only have to go into combat from the age of 25.
Some of Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, have called on the country to lower the conscription age to 18.
Russian authorities on Sunday accused Ukrainian forces of killing at least seven civilians in the Kursk region of southern Russia during their recent occupation of the area.
The civilians were found in the basement of an apartment block in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, which lies in the Sudzhansky district, the central investigation commission said in Moscow.
Commission spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko termed the deaths “an act of terrorism against the peaceful population” and said that those responsible would face justice.
Russian state media earlier published video images of a basement in which Russian soldiers pointed to the bodies of elderly victims who had apparently been tortured and then shot with their hands tied.
The partially blurred video material could not be independently verified and there was no initial reaction from the Ukrainian side.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova described the killings as a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
“These atrocities are further evidence of the terrorist and neo-Nazi attitudes of the Kyiv regime,” she said.
She accused those responsible of carrying out a “cannibalistic massacre” in frustration at Ukrainian losses on the front.
Ukraine’s allies are also responsible for the crime after providing the country with arms and money, she said.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise counteroffensive in the Russian region of Kursk in August, occupying dozens of villages.
The aim of the operation is to improve the Ukrainian position ahead of possible negotiations to end the war, which began almost three years ago.
Ukraine has accused the Russian armed forces of hundreds of war crimes during the conflict, including the mass murder of civilians.
https://thewest.com.au/news/conflict/ukraine-suffering-from-shortage-of-soldiers-commander-c-17441778
