Ukraine Says Goal of Boosting Military 'Cannot Be Achieved' Soon

Ukraine says a proposal for mobilizing up to 500,000 troops "cannot be achieved right away," as invading Russian forces continue their assault.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a plan to draft from 400,000 to 500,000 troops in January. A bill to put the plan into action is set to be voted on by Ukraine's parliament on March 31.

The Ukrainian military has faced a series of battlefield setbacks during the first few months of 2024, with aid from foreign allies having slowed substantially at the beginning of the year. The ability to mobilize more troops could prove crucial to the eventual outcome of the war.

In comments to Financial Times on Wednesday, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said that a recent hiring campaign for jobs covering "a limited range of military specialisms" had been very successful, drawing over 90,000 applications for around 8,000 jobs.

The military is hoping for a far larger personnel boost with the passage of the mobilization law. However, the exact number of troops required is unclear, with the ministry saying that the figures in the plan are only an "estimate" and urging caution on a potential timeline for mobilization.

"Concerning the number of mobilized people, it must be stated right away that for security reasons we cannot disclose the exact number of people needed by the Defence Forces" the ministry said.

"400,000-500,000 is a rough estimate depending on the situation in the combat zone and cannot be achieved right away," it continued. "The process of strengthening the armed forces is ongoing."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian military via email on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Zelensky claimed that his military had an unexpected numbers advantage over the invading Russian forces, telling German television channel ARD that Ukraine has at least 880,000 active personnel—far more than the 617,000 invading troops that Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed are in Ukraine.

The data gathering and analysis platform Statista estimated last month that Ukraine's military included approximately 900,000 active personnel, compared to 1.32 million for Russia. However, a significant number of the Russian troops had not been deployed to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently proposed sending Western troops to Ukraine to help Kyiv overcome current difficulties. The suggestion was met with backlash from some over concerns that the involvement of NATO nations risked turning the conflict into a world war.

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Alexander Crowther suggested earlier this week that the risk could be averted by sending European Union (EU) troops instead, alongside assurances to Putin that "EU operations would not be escalatory."

Zelensky addressed the speculation on Monday, telling French broadcaster BFM TV that the French military could comfortably "remain on French territory" for "as long as Ukraine holds" its positions.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.