War in Ukraine. A Ukrainian officer was demoted after complaining about the lack of trained troops

It will be 2023year of victoryVladimir Zelensky promised on January 1. Meanwhile, the head of military intelligence of Ukraine assured that Crimea will be liberated by the summer. Communication in wartime is an indispensable art that Ukraine has mastered since the first days of the Russian invasion.

The main problem with the conflict is that the information is tightly closed by the government. Kiev alternates between patriotic statements and warnings of difficulties on the frontline to reassure its allies, as when Ukraine’s president worried about the “difficult situation” in Bakhmut. And the government intends to keep this communication under control.

Thus, a Ukrainian officer was demoted after he complained about the lack of ammunition and trained troops in the formations of the military units. washington post: . Anatoly Kozel, lieutenant colonel of the 46th Airborne Assault Brigade, remarkably emphasized in an American newspaper the difficulty of fighting with troops of unprofessional soldiers who had never known fire.

Lack of training

“They don’t give me time to prepare them properly. They tell me to take them straight into fights. But on the spot [ces soldats] drop everything and run away– lamented the soldier, explaining that the recruits were scared by the sound of gunfire and never threw a grenade. “We need NATO instructors in our training centers and our instructors should be sent to the trenches because they have not done their job.“, the officer also begged.

According to him, the Ukrainian losses would be very high, that is why it is difficult to replenish the troops with experienced fighters. Of the 500 soldiers in his brigade, 100 would be killed in action and another 400 wounded, he claimed, leading to a complete turnover of the new and poorly trained troops. If Kiev chooses not to release its camp’s casualty figures, Western sources estimate Ukrainian losses at more than 100,000 killed and wounded.

An officer of the Airborne Brigade, which participated in particular in the Battle of Soledar, which ended in a Ukrainian defeat, also reports in the article a serious shortage of ammunition, in particular American Mk19 mortars or grenade launchers.

A year after the Russian invasion, in a conflict where everyone is betting on the opposing camp’s attrition in a deadly war of attrition, the warning echoes videos of Russian mobilized soldiers broadcast on social media in which soldiers directly challenge Vladimir Putin. reported their anxiety at the front, as well as the lack of weapons and ammunition.

Disqualification and Resignation

In response, the army decided to dismiss the soldier citing “inaccurate information“On military losses”.significantly overrated“Detailed by the press spokesman of the army, whose remarks are reported by online media “Ukrainian Pravda”. . The sanctioned officer and, first of all, violated the duty of the reservist.”In accordance with NATO standards, which have also been implemented in the armed forces of Ukraine“, said the press spokesperson. The latter added that the soldier must get permission from his command for any communication with the media.

According to the same newspaper, the officer in question was transferred from his position at the command of the 46th brigade to the position of the deputy of the army training center and during that time asked to be released from this assignment. The soldier would not be the only one to suffer the displeasure of the hierarchy. Sergeant Alexander Pogrebski from the same brigade has also reportedly been transferred to the unit’s chief instructor at the training center.

These dismissals caused reactions in Ukraine, particularly within the battalion. “We will not be silentthe soldier of the 46th brigade announced in the podium “Ukrainian Pravda”. “Our society is the complete opposite of the Russian Federation […] we don’t have a tsar and we won’t have one“, claims Vladimir Shevchenko, who does not hide his identity, regretting it.”one of the best fighters of this nine years warbe dismissed. “He cares about the lives of the soldiers and asks for changes to achieve a successful counterattackThe journalist and head of the online media also expressed regret in a Facebook post. Censorship. “I hope the command will look into the situation“, he concluded.