Ukraine’s military held back by training and command issues, officer says
With plenty of personnel, equipment, and ammunition, the Ukrainian military needs to resolve pressing issues with its training and command structures, Cpt. Serhii Filimonov, commander of the 108th Separate Battalion, told NV on Jan. 14.
“We have the people, quite a lot of people; we have the equipment, a lot of equipment; we have the weapons, and there is plenty of it as well,” Filimonov said in an interview with NV Radio.
“What we (meaning senior commanders) need is to establish a sound analytical department that can adequately and correctly describe the problem—the problem of distribution, training, and managing personnel.”
He noted that he has been fighting since 2014 and, as a battalion commander, continues to go on frontline combat missions.
However, even being a highly motivated soldier, "if I were thrown into some brigades — especially newly formed ones — and told to take a bus to deliver soldiers to positions at the front lines in Pokrovsk," he wouldn’t do that.
“I see that we still have a lot of strength, and there's certainly no need to lower the draft age to 18,” Filimonov continued.
“If we create an environment in the army where one can fight, be effective, and receive good training, I assure you many young men aged 18 to 21 will enlist voluntarily. We enlisted in 2014 when there was no army. Now, we have many units, commanders, and great weapons that our young men would want to use in battle. We just need to give them the right opportunity, and there will be no need to coerce anyone; there won't be any need to pick random people off city streets.”
On Jan. 12, Mike Waltz, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as the next U.S. National Security Adviser, suggested Kyiv should "go all in" and lower the mobilization age to 18.
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