Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined the priority tasks for the new command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mobilization became the central focus. The head of state emphasized that a practical and effective process of recruiting people into the ranks of the Defense Forces is necessary to fulfill defense tasks.
However, despite political declarations, the reality on the ground remains harsh. Journalists from Liga.net conducted interviews with active-duty Ukrainian military officers, and their opinion was unequivocal: holding the defense line or achieving victory is impossible using only drones. The army needs people.
Officers' Opinion: Real Needs of the Army
According to the military, the top priority for the new command should be determining the actual need for conscripts and clearly understanding exactly which roles within the army structure they can fill. Without this, any reforms will be merely formal.
"I did not see any protest signs saying 'Appoint Drapaty and I will sign a contract'," notes one of the officers of the Special Operations Forces. "Therefore, there will be no significant principled changes in the mobilization process".
This thesis is confirmed by the position of MPs. Solomiia Bobrovskaya, a deputy from the "Holos" party and a member of the Defense Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, agrees that mobilization will continue and will remain compulsory.
Change of Course and Management Gaps
Sources in the General Staff point to a specific problem with the new appointment. Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapaty, who is now also responsible for the mobilization direction, previously focused exclusively on combat operations issues. At the same time, the track for recruiting people into the army has noticeably lagged and requires immediate attention.
Corruption and Human Rights Violations
The situation is exacerbated by systemic problems. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubyntsev, reported alarming statistics: up to 90% of mobilization cases recently have been accompanied by violations of citizens' rights. At the same time, the ombudsman notes that some of these problems could be eliminated relatively quickly.
Facts of corruption in military commissariats have not disappeared. According to Lubyntsev, a cynical practice of extortion has developed: to allow a conscript to get off the bus that delivered him to the assembly point, they demand $10,000. For leaving the commissariat itself, the bribe amount rises to $20,000.
The geography of violations is uneven. The worst situation with mobilization is currently observed in Zakarpattia. At the same time, the best indicators are demonstrated by Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad oblasts.
Admission of Inevitability
The head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense, veteran Yuriy Gudymenko, urges President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to publicly acknowledge the harsh fact: there is currently no alternative to compulsory mobilization in Ukraine. Gudymenko added that he cannot imagine conducting a reform that would make the situation acceptable for all participants in the process under current conditions.
