Russia wants to overwhelm Ukraine with new fronts in the east. But the strategy is not working. Instead, the attacker is losing thousands of soldiers. But Ukraine is also facing a personnel problem.
According to British estimates, Russian troops have lost more than 70,000 soldiers in their war of aggression in the past two months alone. In May, the daily rate of killed and wounded soldiers was 1,262, and in June the average was 1,163, the British Ministry of Defense said, citing intelligence information.
It is likely that Russia will continue to lose more than 1,000 soldiers a day over the next two months as attempts are made to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with mass attacks, the agency said. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s attack since February 2022. The British Ministry of Defense has been regularly publishing information on the course of the war since then. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.
“The increase in casualties reflects Russia opening a new front in the Kharkiv region and maintaining the rate of attack on the other fronts,” said the statement in London. Russia has increased pressure on the front. “But effective Ukrainian defense and a lack of Russian training limit Russia’s ability to achieve tactical successes, despite attempts to further extend the front line.”
Ukraine recruits prisoners for the front
After more than two years of war, Ukraine must also ask itself where it will get personnel for the front. The Ukrainian military is recording massive losses, but exact figures are not published. Unlike at the beginning of the Russian invasion, however, hardly any volunteers are coming forward to serve on the front. For months, there has been discussion about further conscription.
Prisoners are now also being recruited for this purpose. Many of them volunteer, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice announced in May. Of the approximately 20,000 eligible prison inmates, 4,500 had expressed “interest” in joining the army, said Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska. More than 3,000 prisoners had applied to be called up for military service.
At the beginning of May, the parliament in Kiev cleared the way for a corresponding law that would allow certain prisoners access to the armed forces. Only prisoners who have less than three years left to serve on their sentence can voluntarily apply for military service. Mobilized prisoners will not be pardoned, but will be released from prison on probation.
The regulation also requires the approval of the military authorities after a thorough examination of the applicant’s physical and mental health. It does not apply to prisoners who have been convicted of serious crimes such as sexual violence, intentional killing of two or more people, serious corruption or violations of national security.
Russia also uses prisoners in the war
The regulation is reminiscent of a similar law in Russia: Since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has recruited prisoners from Russian prisons for deployment to the front. In return for six months of military service in Ukraine, they were initially promised pardons by President Vladimir Putin.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
