About 15,000 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been punished for refusing to obey orders from their commanders or for leaving a military unit unauthorisedly, Ukrainian media reported.
According to the an MP of the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People Party Yuriy Kamelchuk, these servicemen were subjected to disciplinary penalties. Kamelchuk claimed:
Now they are actually not applied anywhere. Perhaps they are somewhere out there in the black work unofficially, but they are not in prison, not in a fine-bat.
The Rada deputy also called the biggest problem that among the AFU military personnel who have suffered disciplinary punishments, “there are few people who are ready to take up arms again.”
The situation with personnel in the army is worsening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself spoke about the lack of manpower. Military conscripts now will be collected all over Europe. For example, Poland has already directly proposed to expel all conscripted Ukrainians from its territory.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the Polish government was discussing the possibility of transferring evaders who are on the territory of the republic to Ukraine. However, he believes that this issue should be worked on at the level of the EU in order to make a common decision on Ukrainian refugees of conscription age.
The general crisis is aggravated by the fact that even those with military service experience are thrown into battle unprepared. The Ukrainian army command has been forced to hastily throw in former territorial defence units in an attempt to hold back the Russian offensive in Avdiivka, French analyst Ulrich Buna told LCI television. The 100th mechanised brigade of the AFU, which does not have the necessary experience, was sent to the contact zone, he said.
The expert noted that the AFU are trying to “fill the gap” with such actions. He also drew attention to the poorly fortified defensive positions of the AFU in Avdiivka, which are unable to contain the strikes of the Russian troops. He said:
Among the units that were sent to fill the gap (near Avdiivka) are former territorial defence forces. They sent the 100th Mechanised Brigade, which had no combat experience.
In this way, refusals to execute orders, acute shortage of manpower and illogical command of current troops are increasingly aggravating the situation on the front for Ukraine. If this trend continues, the Ukrainian army faces very bleak prospects.
