President’s Office comments on prospects for additional mobilization in Ukraine
According to Podolyak, it is important to rely on training high-quality professional soldiers (Photo:Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Facebook)
The situation on the battlefield, as well as on the effect of mobilization in Russia, will affect whether there is an additional mobilization in Ukraine, Adviser to the head of the President’s Office Mykhailo Podolyak told NV’s sister outlet Ukrainska Pravda on Sept. 26.
"We’re closely monitoring the mobilization process in Russia,” he said.
“Who they call up, and how, how many are sent to the front line. How this mass will manifest itself. Our adjustments – if any are necessary – will depend on that.”
According to Podolyak, it is important to rely on training high-quality professional soldiers, who play a much greater role in modern warfare.
"Unlike the Russians, who again will send a lot of untrained reserves to the battlefield, relying on quantity, it is much more important for us to have well-trained specialists,” he said.
“That’s because this is not a war of small arms, but of heavy artillery, sophisticated equipment, and special software. Therefore, today it is important to have specialists, which is what we are doing together with our partners. Quality over quantity.”
Podolyak also said that Ukraine has been actively forming its reserves, structuring its personnel capabilities through the Territorial Defense units, and comprehensively negotiating on training its troops abroad almost from the first days of the full-scale invasion.
Podolyak said that the war is a constant process of clarifications, operational and tactical changes, and additional logistical actions.
Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" in Russia on Sept. 21. The call-up came after the Russian army suffered a heavy defeat in Ukraine, losing swathes of formerly occupied territory in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that 300,000 reservists would be called up during the partial mobilization.
However, according to Russian opposition media, classified mobilization plans envisage sending one million Russians or more to war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin is disproportionately mobilizing people from national minorities in the east of the country, while fewer ethnic Russians from the big cities in the “European” west of the country are drafted.
This could be because the Putin regime does not want to encourage mass protests in its major power centers – Moscow and St. Petersburg. But it could also stoke tensions in the non-Russian parts of the Russian Federation, and perhaps cause instability in Russia.
Podolyak said on Sept. 26 that the Ukrainian authorities do not plan to conduct additional mobilization, as Ukraine has enough reserves through the territorial defense system.
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