Dmytro Zolotoverekhky, a dentist from Kyiv, says he is “ready to go” for his first deployment as a drone operator for the Ukrainian army.
Unlike most regular soldiers who have spent months, even years, on the front lines with little time to rest and recuperate, he will be allowed to resume training in the Ukrainian capital every month, for two weeks.
Another attraction for Zolotoverekhky was being able to choose his battalion, serving alongside friends and experienced fighters under an officer he trusted.
Ukrainian military units are trying to attract people like Zolotoverekhky as they seek to mobilize the hundreds of thousands of troops needed to hold the line against renewed conflict. Russian offensive.
“It’s about control,” Zolotoverekhky said. “I know I don't have a stupid commander.” I've heard a lot of not-so-funny stories. (But) there are a lot more motivated people there.
Undermanned and outgunned compared to Russian forces on the battlefield, the Ukrainian army is in dire need of new fighters, as more and more Western military aid should arrive in the coming weeks.
But the lines of patriotic volunteers who lined up in front of the recruitment centers after The full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022 are long gone.
Recruitment efforts have been hampered by reports of ammunition shortages, allegations of corruption, incompetent commanders and inadequate training circulating on social media, as well as a lack of leave for frontline troops. . A proposal to allow soldiers to demobilize after 36 months has been scrapped, with Army leaders concerned that too many experienced soldiers will leave early next year.
Faced with the modest number of volunteers, the Ministry of Defense changed course. She launched an advertising campaign making recruiting more exciting, inviting men to choose their own unit and even their specific role.
“EVERYONE WILL FIGHT – choose your unit now,” reads a Da Vinci Wolves Battalion billboard. Officially known as part of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, it began as a nationalist paramilitary movement and has been fighting in eastern Ukraine for a decade.
Another said: “Join the best team! “, referring to the Achilles drone unit, part of the elite 92nd Assault Brigade.
“Every brigade recruits to a certain extent, it just depends on how developed its system is,” said Serhiy Kuzan, president of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, a think tank.
The idea is that by giving them a sense of control, Ukrainians can be persuaded to enroll in more prestigious and perhaps better equipped units. Or that they will take on specialist roles behind the scenes, supporting frontline deployments.
The implicit message from some brigades is that if Ukrainians do not volunteer now, they run the risk of being drafted into standard infantry formations led by weaker commanders later.
This new “pick and choose” approach is being deployed alongside kyiv’s regular mobilization. The Defense Ministry described it as a “new opportunity for units to be staffed with professional and motivated people,” but it declined to say how many men it recruited.
“According to sociological surveys, many Ukrainian citizens are ready to join the army, but under certain conditions of motivation,” said a ministry spokesperson. “One of the most important conditions is to understand where, with whom, how and in what position a person will serve.”
The department also uses headhunters to fill critical roles.
Lobby Roles include IT workers, drone operators, medics, communications technicians, drivers and press officers, as well as regular infantrymen. He said he now fills 1,000 Army positions a month.
“We are trying to mobilize partners. The needs of the army are enormous,” said Vladyslav Greziev, general director of Lobby X.
The recruitment company conducted a survey of 46,000 Ukrainians earlier this year to better understand what is holding back an estimated 3 million military-age men from enlisting. Only 7 percent of those surveyed were about to join the country, while 23 percent said they would only serve if certain conditions were met.
The biggest question potential recruits ask is whether “their future commander will care about their lives and health,” Grezev said. “It’s not about fear of dying. It's a question of uncertainty. They want to control their future as much as possible.
Zolotoverekhky's part-time rotations are an extreme example of pay-as-you-go military service. The unit he joins is a volunteer battalion which offers much more flexible conditions than the regular army. But his strategy is risky. The Defense Ministry says it does not officially recognize volunteer units and therefore could still be mobilized.
Franz-Stefan Gady, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London, said there was a risk that if elite units could attract motivated recruits, they could also divert troops other units.
“If you concentrate all your best troops in just a few elite formations, those formations in a war of attrition tend to wear out much, much faster.”
But voluntary recruitment alone will not allow kyiv to reach the 300,000 troops it needs, Gady said. Soon, Ukraine will have to “make difficult choices” to rebuild its forces.
Greziev, of Lobby
“Mobilization is necessary because this is a matter of life and death for Ukraine as a country,” Greziev said.
Additional reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv