Ukraine has begun rotating troops who have been serving at the front “for a long time” despite the increasingly difficult situation faced by the country’s Armed Forces, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on March 14.
In a post on Facebook, Syrskyi said Ukrainian troops continued to hold the lines in the Zaporizhia direction but said they were coming under heavy attack from Russian drones, artillery and mortars.
“On the positive side, despite the quite difficult situation across the front line, we have managed to launch the process of rotating and replacing battalions and units that have been performing combat missions on the front line for a long time,” Syrskyi said.
“This will allow us to stabilize the situation and positively affect the moral and psychological state of our soldiers.”
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Ukraine is battling with a manpower shortage and the government aims to ramp up mobilization efforts in 2024 and has pledged to change the approach to military recruitment, giving more choices to potential conscripts.
The parliament is now considering a new draft of the mobilization law after its initial, contentious version was withdrawn.
Combined with the lack of manpower, Ukraine faces an increasingly perilous situation as U.S. arms and aid continue to be delayed in Congress.
On March 13, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukraine’s ammunition shortage caused by the delays could soon lead to a Russian breakthrough on the front lines.
The ISW highlighted that Ukraine is being forced to ration critical ammunition – in particular, artillery shells – and prioritize allocation based on those areas currently facing the most intense Russian attacks.
With Moscow’s forces currently holding the initiative in the war and being able to determine the “time, location, and scale of offensive operations,” this leaves other areas of the front-line highly vulnerable.
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