"It's reaching a critical level where we can't be sure that air defense can function properly. These people knew how air defense works; some had been trained in the West and had real skills, now they are sent to the front to fight, for which they have no training," said one of the sources.There are concerns these soldiers could risk revealing critical information if captured by Russian forces on the front line. Additionally, according to sources, the growing demands for such transfers complicate the effective management of air defense units.
"This has been going on for a year, but it's been getting worse and worse. In recent days, the commission came, and they want dozens more. I'm left with those aged 50-plus and injured people," said another source, an officer from an air defense unit.Amid President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's refusal to lower the conscription age to 18, the Ukrainian army is struggling to find enough personnel to fill the gaps on the front lines.
"The people we get now are not like the people who were there at the beginning of the war. Recently, we received 90 people, but only 24 of them were ready to move to the positions. Poorly trained and poorly equipped," said one soldier currently serving in Ukraine's 114th territorial defense brigade.Commenting on the potential lowering of the conscription age, a soldier remarked that 18-year-olds are still children: "Eighteen-year-olds are still children. Maybe they could lower it to 23 if necessary, but there are still enough people in Kyiv who could be mobilized but don't want to go," he added.
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