Ukraine reportedly sends cooks and mechanics to frontline of war against Russia as labor problem worsens

Ukraine's manpower problem worsens as forces have moved from the front lines of the war against Russia to stage an incursion into Russian territory.

Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia last week and now they have seized over 400 miles of territory in the Kursk region, in a surprise raid that caught Moscow off guard. But the troops that were sent to Kursk were moved away from other key locations, further depleting Ukraine's already alarming shortfall. labor against Russian forces on the war front, seconds in the WSJ.

“If we're supposed to have five or six people in a position, we're going to have two or three,” a 45-year-old army commander stationed near the war front in eastern Ukraine told the WSJ , adding that the labor problem had become so pressing that even cooks and mechanics were being deployed. “It's only a matter of time before the enemy finds a weak point.”

A Ukrainian commander told the WSJ that when his forces arrived in eastern Ukraine, they had the same number of troops as Russia, but now Russia has a roughly five-to-one manpower advantage. He said only about a fifth of casualties are replaced by new recruits.

The average age of soldiers serving in Ukraine's infantry is now over 40, according to the WSJ.

“The situation doesn't allow me to even ask for days off; it would hurt to leave,” a 46-year-old platoon commander told the WSJ. “When it stabilizes, I'll ask for a break.”

Further complicating matters is Ukraine's lack of necessary military equipment against Russia. While Ukraine has received tens of billions in military aid from the US and the West, it has not been enough to match Russia's weaponry, some members of Ukrainian brigades stationed on the eastern front told the WSJ. Ukraine is also limited in its domestic weapons production capabilities, while Russia's defense industrial base has remained relatively intact. stable and has received help from other Western adversaries, such as Iran and North korea.

“The Russians have more of everything than we do: more people, more guns, more shells, more ammunition,” a 46-year-old Ukrainian commander told the WSJ. “In the end, it makes us retreat.”

Still, the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk has caught Russia off guard and forced Moscow to move thousands of troops into the region to try to regain control, US officials say. he said CNN. According to reports, Ukrainian forces have occupied more Russian territory in the course of about a week than Russian forces have occupied in eight months. seconds in The Telegraph.

The open question now is what Ukrainian forces plan to do in Kursk. A senior Ukrainian official recently said the raid is intended to force Russia to withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territory.

But privately, U.S. and Western officials told CNN they were concerned that Ukrainian forces would not be able to hold Kursk for long.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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