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Publication date: 09.05.2024
An artillery unit is hidden under the lush spring foliage in the Donetsk region.
Firing rockets from a 50-year-old launcher is only part of their job. They spend a lot of time digging a new bunker.
The Russian troops, only 5 kilometers away, outnumber them in weapons and personnel and are getting closer.
The influx of U.S. aid is expected to help the Ukrainian army, but the way the Ukrainian government is addressing the need to replenish its ranks raises many questions.
The new draft law on mobilization, which was passed in April, was criticized in particular for its lack of provisions limiting the duration of military service. The clause on the demobilization of soldiers after three years was removed from the bill at the request of the military leadership.
Meanwhile, war-weary soldiers tell the BBC that the army needs to "rethink" its approach to mobilization.
The Ukrainian government has decided to lower the conscription age in order to find replacements for soldiers on the front lines - but it's not just about numbers.
Thousands of trained soldiers, such as Oleksandr, a radio operator with the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade, have been fighting for almost two years without proper rest.
"If everyone goes home," he says, "even if the front doesn't fall here, the new soldiers who haven't been shelled will suffer a lot of losses.
He checks messages on his phone while sitting in the bunker where he lives with four other soldiers.
The forest outside creates the illusion of peace, although the whistle of an artillery shell overhead pierces the air from time to time.
Last year, the arrival of spring brought a sense of optimism in anticipation of a counteroffensive. Spring conditions made it easier to move people and equipment.
Now, spring only makes it more difficult for the Ukrainian military to create new defenses.
"My men have become experts over time," says the commander of this rocket artillery battery, call sign Chizh, proudly.
He points to their mobile MLRS under a camouflage net.
"They know every vehicle," he says. - "It's like a woman, she's an individual, with her own quirks and peculiarities.
This 1970s installation symbolizes the current state of the Ukrainian army. It is old-fashioned in many ways, modern in others (for example, the military can use GPS), but it lacks one key resource: missiles.
Although the Russian army is not a model of modern warfare, it is advancing in many parts of the eastern front line. That is why Ukrainians are digging trenches 30 kilometers away.
The Russians have learned their tactical lessons and have air superiority. Moscow has also dramatically increased its weapons production and is mobilizing people faster than Ukraine can.
The mood in those trenches in Donetsk reflects the Ukrainian government's mantra: "fight as long as it takes."
And while the soldiers we spoke to may have felt that they could not speak freely, this was not the case for combat medic Ilya, whom we met in the main square of Kramatorsk.
He believes that the military leadership has been unfair to those who decided to join the army.
Illya says it would have been more effective if recruits were told that the first six months would be "extremely difficult" but that they would then be trained to perform more specific roles.
"Infantry is the hardest job in the army," he says.
Although tired, Ilya is not too keen on the idea of fighting in a trench next to a numb recruit. He also believes that the lack of transparency about the realities on the battlefield further discourages men from serving.
"What if this war lasts for 10 years?"
Meanwhile, in Kyiv, MP Inna Sovsun explains to us why she abstained from voting for the draft law on mobilization. Her husband is a medic on the front line.
"I spend countless nights worrying where he is," she says. - "And millions of Ukrainians are experiencing this.
Sovsun believes that more attention should be paid to rotation, and argues that Ukraine has enough men of military age to replace the roughly 500,000 currently fighting.
"There are highly qualified soldiers who cannot be replaced, but what about the people in the trenches?" she asks. - "It takes time to train them, but what if this war lasts 10 years?"
"We can't pretend to rely on the same people who went to serve on the first day," adds Sovsun.
The mobilization in Ukraine has also been hampered by corruption allegations and a decline in the number of volunteers.
The government now has two key goals: to restore trust in the system and to increase pressure on men to fight.
Both are complicated by the fact that the situation on the battlefield is not in Ukraine's favor.
Thus, we can see that the amendments to the current law were adopted taking into account the changes in the requirements of the time and the imposed martial law in Ukraine, as well as the fact that a legal analysis of the situation, analysis of documents and a legal review of documents and a legal opinion were conducted,written consultation.
