Quite a few Ukrainian conscripts recruited by the "dysfunctional" and "unwieldy" drafting system are "often too old, in poor health and unmotivated," The New York Times has cited brigade officers as saying.
Alina Mykhailova, an officer in the Ukrainian Army’s Da Vinci Wolves battalion, told the newspaper that of the 200 conscripts they had received, only 25 showed a desire to fight.
According to her, the goal is to "recruit volunteers faster, so that we get fewer of those people who are absolutely unmotivated."
"It’s like a market. You must try to find people with marketing methods," another Ukrainian officer, Myroslav Hai, said, referring to public relations recruitment campaigns that aim to lure more people into joining the army.
The remarks come after The Washington Post reported that the Kiev regime’s lack of any clear mobilization strategy aimed at plugging the gaping holes in the ranks of its armed forces is fueling "deep divisions in Ukraine’s parliament and more broadly in Ukrainian society."
The Financial Times, in turn, suggested that Ukraine’s plans to mobilize half a million additional troops via a controversial new mobilization law have little hope of panning out if new Western assistance doesn’t arrive.
Shortly after Russia started its special military operation, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced martial law and general draft in Ukraine. Under martial law, men aged between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country, and men aged 27 and older are eligible to be drafted, with some exceptions.
In a sign that the problems of draft dodgers show no sign of being solved, draft cards are handed out not only in recruitment offices, but also on the streets, at gas stations, or in cafes.