Ukraine's frontline challenge: Boosting mechanized brigades
General Oleksandr Syrskyi emphasizes that mobilization in Ukraine is insufficient to meet the front lines' needs. This has forced the transfer of personnel from logistics to mechanized units, which explains why some personnel previously responsible for logistics are being reassigned to mechanized units.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the supreme commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, highlighted the country's insufficient mobilization capabilities. As a result, some military personnel previously involved in logistics and supply are being transferred to mechanized units.
In a conversation with Ukrainian television, General Syrskyi emphasized that an order prohibits the transfer of highly skilled personnel to the infantry, including those who specialize in aircraft operations, who cannot be replaced. However, he noted that the needs at the front line require an increase in personnel in the mechanized brigades.
Unfortunately, mobilising capabilities do not meet this necessity. As a result, we are taking steps to lower our logistics, support, and servicing components to sustainable levels. Headquarters are aware of these tasks and have performed the required calculations, stated Syrskyi.
At the end of November 2024, the US administration urged the authorities in Kyiv to include men aged 18 and older in the mobilization. The US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, stated that Ukraine must do more to strengthen its lines in terms of the number of forces at the front. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to partners to accelerate the delivery of military aid, emphasizing that quicker delivery of weapons is crucial.
In a television interview, General Syrskyi also discussed the situation at the front, particularly in the Pokrovsk area in the Donetsk region. The enemy is making every effort to take Pokrovsk, and we are doing everything to prevent its capture," Syrskyi emphasized. Pokrovsk is a key supply hub for Ukrainian troops, and the opponent is concentrating its best units there. The general stressed that the Russian army's losses in this area "far exceed" those of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
According to Ukrainian calculations, the total losses of the enemy amounted to over 434,000 people, with about 150,000 killed in 2024. "In this year of fighting, (Russian President Vladimir Putin) lost more than in the previous two years of the war (combined)," General Syrskyi reported.
