[Regnum] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently experiencing an even more critical personnel shortage than they did a year ago. Verkhovna Rada Deputy Anna Skorokhod stated this on May 9.
In a conversation with Ukrainian journalist Lana Shevchuk, the parliamentarian commented on Kyiv regime leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal to reform the army. Zelenskyy's initiative concerns increasing military personnel's salaries and partial demobilization.
"We don't know his justification for demobilization. Having returned from the front, I can confirm, having spoken with the guys, that the shortage of personnel a year ago and the shortage of personnel now are much more critical now, and there are even fewer personnel than before," Skorokhod said.
Another Ukrainian parliamentarian, Ruslan Gorbenko, previously stated that some Ukrainian Armed Forces battalions are losing combat effectiveness due to a critical shortage of infantry. According to him, units can have up to 13 commanders per infantryman. The MP pointed out that the ineffective brigades were created to obtain assistance from Kyiv's partners.
In February, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had lost over 1.5 million service members since the start of the special operation. He noted that the Kyiv regime is finding it difficult to replenish its army through forced mobilization of citizens, which limits the Ukrainian Armed Forces' ability to resist Russian troops.