Ukraine’s eastern front falters amid poorly trained recruits, AP reports

According to them, some of the new recruits lack even the basic level of training. They refuse to fire at the enemy, struggle with assembling weapons, or coordinating basic combat movements. Some have even abandoned prepared positions and left the battlefield.

“Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in a firing position in the trenches but don’t open fire. That’s why our people are dying,” said a battalion commander of Ukraine’s 47th Brigade.

One of the latest examples of territorial loss, which commanders blame on the recruits, is the loss of the village of Prohres last month in the Pokrovsky district of Donetsk Oblast. Reportedly, units of the 31st Brigade withdrew in a “poorly coordinated rush,” prompting the 47th Brigade to engage in battle and attempt to stabilize the line. A similar scenario unfolded in the village of Ocheretyne in May, according to AP.

“The main problem is the self-preservation instinct of the newcomers. In the past, people could stand until the last moment to hold the position. Now, even when there is light shelling of firing positions, they retreat,” said a soldier of the 110th Brigade.

There are “very, very few” who are motivated to hold their position, he added.

In contrast, military expert Viktor Kevliuk from Ukraine’s Center for Defense Strategies disputes the claims of poor training among the mobilized soldiers, stating that brigade commanders are “looking for explanations for tactical failures.”

“In the same way, a brigade commander has the appropriate tools to influence morale. If all these processes are well-organized in the brigade, there won’t be significant problems. If these mechanisms fail, we read about negativity on social media,” he said.

On August 16, the head of the Pokrovsky District State Administration, Volodymyr Zamotaiev, noted that Russian occupiers are 10.5 kilometers from Pokrovsk. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the occupiers are trying to capture the Kostyantynivka-Pokrovsk road.

Politico, citing soldiers from the 110th Mechanized Brigade, reported that Russian occupiers intensified their offensive near Pokrovsk in response to Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.