Ukraine general to overhaul training, management amid manpower woes

KYIV – The new commander of Ukraine’s ground forces plans a “massive transformation” of his branch to improve troop training, management and recruitment, Kyiv said on Dec 13, as it grapples with manpower problems at the front.

The overhaul by Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who assumed his post in November, comes as Ukraine’s outmanned and outgunned army is struggling to halt a grinding Russian march in the east that has brought Moscow’s fastest gains since 2022.

The military said the changes would cover training regimes as well as battlefield and logistics management, including by cutting corruption, embracing technology and strengthening the role of non-commissioned officers.

“Today, the ground forces need changes, new energy among its soldiers and a modern approach to the development of their capabilities,” the military quoted Maj-Gen Drapatyi as saying at a high-level security meeting.

Ukraine has sought to replenish its ranks through mobilisation and Western-style recruitment, but has faced difficulties as reports of corruption, poor training and mismanagement have dented enthusiasm for service. The authorities are also battling a rise in desertions as front-line troops grow physically and mentally exhausted from nearly three years of war.

“Changes will certainly come,” Maj-Gen Drapatyi said. “No matter how difficult it is, we have no right not to do it.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Dec 12 for changes at training centres that would allow recruits to learn directly under battlefield commanders. He has also appointed a prominent brigade commander as a senior battlefield adviser.

Fighting has raged in recent weeks as Kyiv and Moscow aim to secure a stronger position at any future negotiations, a prospect anticipated by both sides after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Ukraine is under pressure from the outgoing US Biden administration to lower the draft age, a move that Ukrainian officials have ruled out, saying their forces need more Western equipment for the men already mobilised.

Ukraine expanded its mobilisation drive in April, lowering the call-up age to 25 from 27, but since then has steadily lost ground in the east while launching an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Kyiv is loath to reduce the mobilisation age further, fearing the damage it could do to the already bad demographic outlook for the country. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed and millions of people fled the country during the invasion. REUTERS