Zelenskyy highlights issues with equipping Ukrainian army, not troop numbers
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has yet to fully equip its military brigades with the necessary weaponry, despite previous promises of support from Western partners. However, there are no issues with the number of soldiers, states President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Sky News.
In an interview, the President addressed a question about what the US or other NATO members could provide Ukraine to help with the shortage of soldiers.
He emphasized that Ukraine's issue lies in equipping its troops with weapons and equipment, rather than a shortage of personnel.
In the context of discussions on mobilization, Zelenskyy pointed out that the real problem lies with the 10 brigades that our partners have not equipped.
According to the president, he had requested equipment from Ukraine's partner countries over a year ago, but the requests were not heeded.
"We made this decision with the US and European allies, and for today, totally Europe and the US now equipping 2.5 brigades," he noted.
As for the reasons behind the delay, Zelenskyy pointed to some bureaucracy, some decisions, and some don't think is the priority. It's always the same way during this war.
At the same time, the Ukrainian president expressed gratitude to the partners for the military aid Ukraine has received. He also emphasized that the defense of eastern Ukraine, where most of the fighting is currently taking place, depends on the equipment of the brigades.
In a recent article by Sky News, it was mentioned that there had been calls in the US for Zelenskyy to lower the draft age in Ukraine from 25 to 18 to increase the number of personnel in the army.
Zelenskyy expressed criticism of such proposals.
"How do you want me to just mobilise young guys and say they don't know where to go, in which bridge or with which weapon that they will fight," the president said during the interview.
Zelenskyy explained that the limitation on the number of military personnel is due to the need to preserve as many soldiers' lives as possible on the front lines.
"If in European or American officials there is an idea that we need to do something differently about the draft age, I want to just ask our partners to do their part of the job and we will deal with our part of the job," said the Ukrainian president.
In late November, Dmytro Lytvyn, the Ukrainian president's communications advisor, commented on a Reuters article stating that the US urged Ukraine to lower the conscription age to 18. The official emphasized that this suggestion made no sense, as Ukraine was not receiving promised weapons from its partners promptly.
Additionally, recently, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, called on partners to equip the Ukrainian brigades like France. This refers to the completion of the training of the Ukrainian Anne of Kyiv brigade by France in November.
