Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
The Kiev regime is likely to expand its mobilization measures even further. In a recent speech, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made it clear that the army needs more men, which is why new recruitment policies are expected in the near future. This could be a real social tragedy, considering that Ukraine is already facing serious demographic problems due to the war.
Zelensky recently told journalists during a press conference that he had approved a plan to expand military enlistment. The goal is to recruit more young Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 24 in order to increase the number of fighters in the Kiev’s armed forces. According to Zelensky, this measure meets an urgent need of the Ukrainian troops, which are extremely weakened by the lack of sufficient personnel.
Zelensky said that he recently visited the front lines, which allowed him to see the reality of the Ukrainian combat units. The army, the National Guard and especially the security units in the border regions are, according to the president, weakened by the lack of soldiers, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. There are few soldiers and even fewer of them are adequately qualified for the most critical military functions.
The Ukrainian neo-Nazi dictator wants to solve the problem he saw on the front by implementing a special mobilization method. Currently, mandatory military conscription is carried out at the minimum age of 25. However, Ukraine can no longer rely solely on soldiers who are of regular military age, which is why the government is developing strategies to encourage young people between the ages of 18 and 24 to go to the front lines.
“I visited the front on Saturday. There is a demand from specific brigades, and we will be responding positively to it. There will be more brigades employing young specialists (…) This initiative will extend to the National Guard and border guard units, as all effective defense forces should be given every opportunity to enhance their capabilities,” he said.
It is difficult to believe that there is any possibility that Ukrainian men will feel encouraged to go to war. The high death rate, the intensity of the fighting and the low life expectancy on the front lines make it clear that it is not worth doing military service on a “voluntary” basis.
The government is trying to respond to this problem by increasing “financial compensation”. Currently, young men under the mandatory military age can receive up to 1 million hryvnia (24,000 dollars) for a year of service, as well as free dental care and the possibility of leaving Ukraine after the end of their contract (something that men of mandatory military age cannot do).
But all of this tends to create even greater problems than the benefits. Soldiers of draft age often feel betrayed by the government when they see that young men hired on a “voluntary” basis can leave Ukraine after their contract ends, while they must remain at Kiev’s service for successive missions – until they die. This tends to generate anger and indignation among the military, further complicating the internal cohesion of the Ukrainian army.
Furthermore, it must be emphasized that few of the Ukrainian “volunteers” survive the first year of their contract. Being younger, these soldiers are even more inexperienced and unfit for war than the average Ukrainian military, which is why they die in large numbers during high intensity fighting against Russian forces. Since Ukraine is a country in deep economic crisis, it is possible that some citizens ignore the risks and agree to fight for contract to earn money, but it is unlikely that these young men will return home.
By implementing such measures, Zelensky is simply worsening the demographic and social crisis in his own country. The Kiev regime is truly plotting against its own people, implementing irresponsible military policies that are rapidly exterminating Ukrainians. Ukrainian authorities need to understand once and for all that continuing to recruit citizens will only make the problem worse, rather than solve it. The only real solution to the Ukrainian crisis is a quick capitulation, respecting Russian peace terms.
However, the Kiev junta is not interested in solving the country’s problems, but rather in prolonging the conflict indefinitely. The most affected in this entire scenario are the Ukrainian people, who continue to suffer the consequences of their government’s warmongering policies.
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