Ukrainian air defense soldiers allegedly transferred to infantry - General Staff comments
General Staff comments air defense soldiers transfer to the infantry (photo: Getty Images)
The Guardian reported that air defense soldiers were being transferred to the infantry. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement on the reassignment of the military.
What The Guardian wrote
The newspaper, citing sources in the air defense units, reported that the General Staff has ordered “depleted air defense units” to release more people to send them to the front as infantry.
The newspaper's sources expressed concern that such a move could negatively affect Ukraine's air defense capabilities.
According to the Guardian's source, some fighters had been trained in the West and had real skills, and now they are being sent to the infantry “without any training.”
General Staff's reaction
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the statement about the “transfer of air defense to the infantry” is untrue and incorrect. However, the General Staff confirmed that a certain number of servicemen from the Air Force units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were indeed reassigned to positions in accordance with their military specialties to man the units that are being formed and restoring combat capability.
The Armed Forces emphasize that this does not apply to air defense specialists who ensure the protection of Ukrainian skies.
“The Air Force has servicemen of various military specialties. We are talking about the reassignment and secondment of some servicemen from the Air Force security companies, some rear mobile firing groups, as well as personnel not involved in the maintenance and operation of high-tech weapons and military equipment,” the General Staff said.
To hold the frontline, some servicemen of rear units were also redeployed to combat units.
The Armed Forces General Staff emphasized that the number of downed Russian drones has not decreased after the decisions taken and that air defense is performing its tasks well.
Lack of manpower
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has 14 formed brigades, but they have no equipment or weapons.
The head of state emphasized that the training of new brigades should take place immediately with the weapons that Ukraine receives from its partners and with which they will then fight. According to him, Ukraine has been waiting for some weapons for over a year.
At the same time, the United States believes that Ukraine should lower the mobilization age to 18 years. According to Washington, the lack of people is the main problem of the Ukrainian army. Zelenskyy rejects this proposal and emphasizes that age does not matter if soldiers lack weapons.
