WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian army proposal to call up more civilians gets mixed reaction in Kyiv

A Ukrainian army proposal to conscript up to 500,000 more civilians has produced mixed feelings in Kyiv, with many people saying more troops are needed to fight Russia but some suggesting it is pointless unless they get more weapons.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the army's proposal on Tuesday but said he had not yet decided whether to back it.

Such a move would be intended to help replenish exhausted Ukrainian forces nearly two years of Russia's full-scale invasion, but could risk a backlash from those who oppose it.

Ukraine does not provide details of current troop numbers but has previously said it had around 1 million people under arms. Russia has expanded its army since its invasion of Ukraine last year, and said it plans to increase it to 1.5 million.

Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, said closed polling data showed more than 65% of Ukrainians would strongly support or rather support a significant further mobilisation.

But he told Reuters the figure could be skewed by people wanting to give a "socially desirable" response in wartime.

Oleksandr, 27, a serviceman who declined to give his surname, welcomed the idea of a big mobilisation, saying frontline positions were thinly defended.

He told Reuters the army reserves should be strengthened as people fear being conscripted, assuming they would automatically be sent to hotspots.

"Most people are afraid now because they don't understand (the situation). They think they will join the forces and be killed instantly or tortured. Nothing of the sort goes on," he said on Wednesday in the Ukrainian capital.

QUESTIONS OVER MORALE, FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

Ukraine, which imposed martial law after Russia invaded, has been regularly drafting people into the army throughout the war.

The process is done largely out of view although some social media videos have shown draft officers handing out call-up papers on the street, at metro stations or at gyms, and in some cases using force against those who resist.

Rafael, a 40-year-old sculptor who declined to give his surname, said forcibly conducting a large-scale mobilisation could badly affect morale on the front lines.

"People's motivation is dying. If some are forced to fight against their will, our army won't be as (motivated) to fight," he said.

Tetiana, a 37-year-old office worker, said a more important matter than manpower was securing more military and financial assistance from abroad.

"I think (mobilising people) won't be enough (to win the war). We need the support of the West, the United States. Our soldiers will not suffice," she said.

Assistance packages totalling more than $100 billion from the United States and European Union have been held up by political concerns abroad.

"This (mobilisation) won't help the cause. There is no point in mobilising huge amounts of people, and then leaving them without equipment," said serviceman Denys, 21.

He said Ukrainian authorities were not spending enough money on weapons.

The military has not commented on Zelenskiy's statement about mobilisation. The military and government have been discussing ways to improve mobilisation for weeks.

On Monday, army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi criticised a decision by Zelenskiy to fire the heads of the regional military draft offices this summer, describing them as "professionals" who were now gone.

He said the mobilisation programme did not need to be strengthened, but should be returned to the model that worked for the first phase of the war.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian paratroopers take Ukrainian armed forces stronghold near Artyomovsk

Russian paratroopers stormed a Ukrainian military stronghold north-west of Artyomovsk in the Peoples Republic of Donetsk, the Russian Ministry of Defense told TASS.

"In the Donetsk direction, assault units of Ivanovo paratroopers from the Battlegroup South, continued to improve the situation along the front line and with the support of artillery fire stormed another strong point northwest of Artyomovsk," the statement said.

During aerial reconnaissance of the Ukrainian armed forces' positions, the paratroopers discovered the enemy's main fire weapons and control points. Subsequently, the artillery of the formation suppressed the main fire weapons of the Ukrainian armed forces, disrupting their control system. Newly identified targets were destroyed by FPV drone crews.

Next, paratroopers from several directions captured the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces, after which they carried out a complete clearing of the stronghold. The enemy fled, leaving behind their wounded and dead.

Reuters/Tass