Ukrainian Member of Parliament Criticizes Transfer of Military Medics to Infantry Amid Mobilization Crisis

Verkhovna Rada Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko reported There has been an increase in complaints on Telegram about the transfer of professional medics from military hospitals to serve as infantrymen.

“What the fuck! “Once again: The people who save the lives of our military, who perform complex surgeries every day, are being assigned to assault units,” he wrote.

Honcharenko, an ally of former President Petro Poroshenko, accused the Ukrainian authorities of complete failure in this regard. mobilization Efforts: “You are using old Soviet methods for mobilization, instead of recruiting trained personnel, you are sending medical specialists to the infantry without proper training.”

He also added that, meanwhile, experienced war veterans were reportedly working in Regional Recruitment Centers (TRCs) “sorting papers”.

“Paramedics are more than combat units; “They are the first aid line and a vital chance for survival for every soldier,” Honcharenko said.

Ukrainian parliamentarians are considering disbanding the TRCs amid several scandals, including allegations of abuse of power and “simplification,” a term for the practice of detaining men on the street, putting them on buses and transporting them to one-off mobilization centers. road ticket to training grounds.

according to TSN outDeputy Yulia Yatsyk announced plans to disband the TRC and create more than 10 brigades for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from its employees.

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Honcharenko was one of those who signed the resolution to dissolve the TRC during a session of the Provisional Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada; This decision proposed replacing TRCs with civilian staff recruitment centers and reassigning experienced combat personnel to operational roles.

As previously reported by the Kyiv Post with reference to the Financial Times (FT), Ukraine faces an ongoing manpower crisis Troops along the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front face constant Russian air and ground attacks. Major General Dmytro Marchenko stated that the eastern front was “collapsing” due to shortages of both ammunition and personnel.

“People are very exhausted. They cannot hold the fronts they are on,” he said.

Two commanders on the eastern front told the FT that skilled personnel, including medics, were occasionally assigned to infantry duties. “War sometimes requires these things,” one commander said. “I’ve sent my cooks to the trenches before.”

To address manpower shortages, some infantry units have reportedly been reinforced with air force pilots, engineers, medics and surgeons, according to Mariana Bezuhla, a member of the Verkhovna Rada’s foreign policy committee.

Some Air Force personnel were assigned to front-line units in response to the urgency of the situation, Col. Yuriy Ihnat, a senior Air Force official, said earlier this month. However, a Ukrainian army spokesman denied these allegations and declared that Ihnat “misspoke”.

“Air Force units, including engineers, pilots, maintenance personnel and medical teams, remain in specialized roles,” the spokesman said, adding that more medics were being deployed to “stabilization points” closer to the front lines in anticipation of increased fighting and casualties. .

According to the FT, both commanders and analysts agree that the lack of manpower, especially infantry, is Ukraine’s most pressing problem. While plans are underway to enlist another 160,000 soldiers by February, experts estimate that number may only reach 100,000; This number covers only half of the current deficit.

Recruitment efforts are also hampered by open-ended terms of service. One veteran soldier said: “Many people now see mobilization as a death sentence.”

Prominent Ukrainian journalist-soldier Stanislav Aseyev warned that “without clear policies on length of service and quality of training, new soldiers will be demoralized and as ineffective as battle-worn infantrymen.”

Franz-Stefan Gady, a military analyst and researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London who recently visited Ukraine, commented on this tension: “The average age in the various brigades is already over 40 and there don’t seem to be enough of them.” looks.” “Reinforcements are coming to the front line.”

Several MPs, including Solomiya Bobrovska from the parliament’s national security, defense and intelligence committee, noted a decline in Ukraine’s mobilization rate.

People’s Deputy Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the National Security Committee of the Parliament, reported: AFU needs to mobilize 500,000 peopleHe underlined that the planned recruitment of 200,000 soldiers would be insufficient to meet the army’s needs at the front.

But according to reports from many Russian pro-war Telegram channels, UAV operators are being reassigned from drone units to front-line strike teamsa decision that was met with criticism among military bloggers or Z-bloggers.

Military Z correspondent Roman Saponkov condemned the change, saying that skilled drone operators backed by private sponsorship were now forced into direct combat roles, leading to higher casualties.

Z-blogger Alexey Zhivov attributed this move to the increasing number of unofficial units in the Russian army, which led to a reorganization of personnel to strengthen offensive capabilities. He stated that “the battalions were ‘shocked’ to support the assault forces.”

Military commentator Vladislav Shurygin drew attention to the issue, saying, “There are so many special units that soon there will be no one left to fight… Be it UAV operators, communications teams, logistics teams,” adding that in a company of 90 people, “only 20 of them are attacked.” ready.”