Ukraine’s Army Chief Syrskyi: the need to mobilize 500,000 troops significantly reduced after audit

In a recent interview with Ukrinform, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that an audit within the military has allowed for the reallocation of thousands of servicemen who were not involved in combat operations to combat units.

“After reviewing our internal resources and clarifying the combat composition of the Armed Forces, this figure [of 500,000 more mobilized troops] has been significantly reduced. We expect that we will have enough people capable of defending the Motherland. This includes not only mobilized troops but also volunteers,” Syrskyi noted.

He added that it is important to consider that people are not robots and that they become exhausted, both physically and psychologically, especially under combat conditions. He cited the example of the 110th brigade, which has been engaged in the Avdiivka direction since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and only after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avidiivka in February was pulled back for rest and recovery.

Syrskyi emphasized that it is necessary to avoid extremes, as all armies worldwide have personnel who are not directly involved in combat operations but provide support to combat units. Effective logistics in the ongoing war against Russian invaders is crucial. Still, according to him, the priority is to ensure rotations of frontline units and the most effective use of manpower. He has recently started the regular rotations, which were not properly managed during the earlier, more hectic stage of the war.

Ukraine’s parliament is on the final second reading of the new mobilization law, which is expected to be adopted in April. It still needs to be determined which version of the law will be adopted. The law is expected to cut an extensive list of people exempt from mobilization in Ukraine — the move crucial to staff the army amid Russia’s continued build-up of troops in occupied areas, now approaching half a million soldiers. Ukrainian forces, which were initially rapidly mobilized and reached 1 million service members, have gradually lost manpower due to KIA and WIA losses as well as natural exhaustion of troops after already over two years of active combat.

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