The report from The Washington Post underscores the critical issue faced by Ukrainian soldiers, where reinforcements arrive at the front lines lacking fundamental skills such as assembling rifles and firing weapons. This deficiency in training highlights a concerning gap in preparedness. 

The Washington Post’s report, based on interviews with commanders and newly deployed troops, reveals a concerning trend where units on the front lines must re-train soldiers arriving from rear positions. 

The testimony from Officer Schmidt of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade provides a firsthand account of the challenges faced by Ukrainian troops on the front lines. 

The 93rd Mechanized Brigade’s involvement in some of the war’s fiercest battles emphasizes the gravity of the issue. 

The account of the soldier, identified as Val from the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, underscores the urgency with which troops are being sent to the front lines. The short notice given to Val before his deployment exemplifies the intense demands placed on Ukrainian forces amid ongoing hostilities. 

The accounts provided by soldiers from the 42nd Mechanized Brigade in Kharkiv paint a stark picture of the challenges faced by Ukrainian troops and the inadequacies of their training facilities. 

The reported deficiencies in Ukraine’s training centers, including shortages of basic ammunition like Soviet-caliber bullets and inadequate grenade training, highlight systemic issues within the military infrastructure. 

The absence of a proper training system, as lamented by the instructor, underscores the broader challenges facing Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense in ensuring the readiness and effectiveness of its armed forces. 

Why the world cares about Ukraine’s training

While Kyiv has begun receiving a long-awaited tranche of US military equipment and weaponry, the dwindling manpower poses a significant obstacle to maximizing the effectiveness of these resources.

In response to the manpower shortage, member states of NATO, including the Baltic States and France, are considering plans to deploy military trainers in Ukraine to assist in preparing new waves of troops. However, this proposal has drawn criticism from Russia and pro-Kremlin pundits, who view it as an escalation by NATO that crosses a red line.

Meanwhile, Russia has ramped up its military efforts, rapidly recruiting new troops and accelerating production in its defense manufacturing industry. Analysts suggest that Russia’s ability to resupply the battlefield with troops and equipment indicates its capacity to withstand heavy losses for an extended period.

These developments underscore the complex dynamics at play in the region, highlighting the delicate balance of power and the potential for further escalation in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. 

Ukraine’s struggle to recruit and train new personnel amid the threat of long-range Russian strikes highlights the precarious security situation facing the country. The vulnerability of Ukraine’s rear areas to such attacks further complicates efforts to conduct training effectively within the country.

Given these challenges, Kyiv may indeed face limited options and could increasingly turn to NATO states for assistance, particularly in training personnel to operate new Western-supplied equipment. Utilizing facilities and expertise in NATO member states may offer a safer and more conducive environment for training, mitigating the risks posed by potential Russian aggression.

Collaborating with NATO allies not only provides Ukraine with access to advanced training resources but also strengthens its interoperability with Western military forces. This cooperation enhances Ukraine’s defense capabilities and reinforces its strategic partnership with NATO, potentially deterring further aggression from Russia.

However, such reliance on external training facilities also underscores the urgency for Ukraine to bolster its domestic military infrastructure and develop safe training areas within its borders. This would reduce dependence on foreign assistance and enhance the country’s self-sufficiency in defense preparedness. 

Overall, Ukraine’s efforts to navigate these challenges reflect the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region and the imperative for strategic partnerships to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity against external threats.

The challenges faced by Ukraine in recruiting and training new personnel amidst the threat of long-range Russian strikes highlight the urgency of addressing the country’s security needs. With the vulnerability of Ukraine’s rear areas to potential Russian attacks, conducting training within the country becomes increasingly risky.

While Ukraine prioritizes training and skill development, Russia’s tactics have been characterized by a willingness to sacrifice inexperienced troops for strategic gains.

Kyiv may indeed be compelled to explore options such as sending personnel to NATO states for training, particularly when it comes to familiarizing Ukrainian operators with new Western-supplied equipment. 

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This weekend, Russian drones and scouts surveilling the front line just west of the ruins of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, observed something strange. Ukrainian trenches just east of the village of Ocheretyne, previously manned by soldiers from the Ukrainian army’s elite 47th Mechanized Brigade, were empty.

The village was undefended

Seizing the opportunity, the Russian army’s 30th Motor Rifle Brigade raced several miles along the railroad threading west from Avdiivka and captured most of Ocheretyne—and potentially also Novobakhmutivka, the village south of Ocheretyne.

It’s the fastest penetration into Ukrainian territory by Russian forces in months—and it threatens to collapse Ukraine’s defensive line west of Avdiivka. A line that has held for months, but now has a deep and widening gap in it. “Pandora’s box is open,” Ukrainian analysis group Deep State commented.

To get a sense of how frightened Ukrainian commanders are right now, consider the brigade they rushed into the breach north and west of Ocheretyne: the 100th Mechanized Brigade. The brigade is one of the newest and most lightly-equipped brigades in the Ukrainian army—and seemingly unsuited for the kind of front-line triage commanders are asking of it.

The collapse in Ocheretyne reportedly isn’t the 47th Mechanized Brigade’s fault. That brigade—the main operator of Ukraine’s American-made armored vehicles—was following orders to withdraw from Ocheretyne in order to redeploy to the rear for a much-needed period of rest after spending nearly a year in combat.

The 115th Mechanized Brigade was supposed to take the 47th Mechanized Brigade’s place in Ocheretyne, seamlessly filling the same fighting positions with enough troops to maintain the integrity of the defensive line west of Avdiivka.

But something went wrong. According to Mykola Melnyk, the famed 47th Mechanized Brigade company commander who lost a leg during Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, “certain units just fucked off.”

The 115th Mechanized Brigade’s failure to hold the line practically invited the Russian 30th Motor Rifle Brigade into Ocheretyne—and triggered a panicky response in Ukrainian headquarters. Commanders ordered the battle-weary 47th Mechanized Brigade to turn around and return to the front line. They also ordered the 100th Mechanized Brigade to counterattack.

The 100th Mechanized Brigade is a former territorial brigade—the equivalent of a U.S. Army National Guard unit—that the defense ministry in Kyiv upgraded to the active army in late March.

The 100th Mechanized Brigade isn’t inexperienced: its 2,000 or so troopers have seen action many times in Russia’s 26-month wider war on Ukraine. But the brigade lacks the heavy equipment—Western-made tanks, fighting vehicles and artillery—that gives more elite units such as the 47th Mechanized Brigade much of their combat power.

The 100th Mechanized Brigade fought hard, anyway, intercepting the Russian 30th Motor Rifle Brigade and other units from the Russian 41st Combined Arms Army as they attempted to advance toward the village of Prohres, another seven miles to the west along the same railroad linking Avdiivka to Ocheretyne. “The attempt to advance towards Prohres was stopped by a successful counterattack by the 100th Mechanized Brigade,” Deep State reported.

It’s unclear what might happen next in and around Ocheretyne. For now, Ukrainian troops “hold positions in the western part of the village and maintain fire control over its southern part,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies noted.

That the Ukrainians had to rush into a combat a comparatively weak brigade speaks to the paucity of Ukraine’s reserves west of Avdiivka, however. The Russians, for their part, are keeping an entire tank division, the 90th, in reserve around Avdiivka.

If the 90th Tank Division rolls into Ocheretyne before the Ukrainian eastern command mobilizes additional reinforcements, the Russian penetration could widen into a full-fledged breakthrough—one that could force tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops to retreat west to their next line of defenses.

For the Ukrainians, the best reason to be hopeful is the $1 billion in fresh munitions the United States rushed to Ukraine in the hours after the U.S Congress finally, after six months of delay, approved additional U.S. aid to Ukraine on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian brigades around Ocheretyne will need every bullet, shell and missile they can get. Especially the lightly-equipped 100th Mechanized Brigade.

Source: Forbes

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