Responding to complaints about the total collapse of the frontlines in the Donbass, Vladimir “Volodomyodomrym Zelensskyiieyey” Zelensky blamed Western governments for not giving him enough weapons, which is what he always does when he’s losing.
What’s more, the military (via the Associated Press) came out and blamed the soldiers themselves for the failures.
These are pretty much all going to be conscripts at this point, many of whom were press-ganged – kidnapped and forced into military service at the point of a gun. No one really expects these men to be great soldiers.
Blaming the individual troops is really bad form.
AP:
Some new Ukrainian soldiers refuse to fire at the enemy. Others, according to commanders and fellow fighters, struggle to assemble weapons or to coordinate basic combat movements. A few have even walked away from their posts, abandoning the battlefield altogether.
While Ukraine presses on with its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, its troops are still losing precious ground along the country’s eastern front — a grim erosion that military commanders blame in part on poorly trained recruits drawn from a recent mobilization drive, as well as Russia’s clear superiority in ammunition and air power.
“Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. … That is why our men are dying,” said a frustrated battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade. “When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”
The accounts come from commanders and soldiers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive military matters. Others spoke on the condition that they be identified only by their call signs in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol.
Commanders say the recruits have contributed to a string of territorial losses that enabled Russia’s army to advance, including near the city of Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub. If it falls, the defeat would imperil Ukraine’s defenses and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the Donetsk region. Russian soldiers are now just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away.
That’s not very far!
Following the implementation of a controversial mobilization law in May that established clearer regulations for territorial recruitment centers, Ukraine is reportedly drafting tens of thousands of fighters per month. Demand is highest in the infantry.
But there are logistical hurdles to train, equip and pay so many incoming people, and commanders constantly demand new soldiers. To ease that pressure, military leaders have had to take units from brigades in one region and transfer them to different areas to stabilize weak spots.
…
Ukraine’s sudden foray into Russia initially stirred hopes that the Kremlin might be forced to divide its military resources to respond. But so far, Russian forces have not wavered in their push toward Pokrovsk and other potential conquests.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s lightning advance into Russian territory has slowed after two weeks, making only small gains, a possible sign that Moscow is counter-attacking more effectively.
It’s unclear if the frontlines are collapsing because Keev decided to do this lunatic PR stunt and invade Russia, or if the reverse is true: they did the PR stunt to distract from the frontlines collapsing.
It doesn’t really matter.
The purpose of the attack inside Russia is clearly not strategic in any sense at all. It’s an extremely bizarre PR hype stunt, no doubt suggested (or demanded) by the US.
The videos of the press-ganging are not going over well.
We’ve been seeing videos like this for more than a year, but they’re getting more attention now that no one even claims the Ukraine can “win the war,” or even that they’re trying to win the war.