Ukraine’s Military Mobilization Challenge |
During the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion that started in February 2022, many Ukrainian volunteers—male and female—joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), including the Territorial Defense Forces, in order to rescue their fatherland. The AFU’s initial aptitude to push back the much larger Russian army surprised the outside world. Equally astonishing has been Ukraine’s ability to hold the frontline against Russia. Few other European nations would have been able to do so.
Nevertheless, since 2023, the recruitment of additional Ukrainian men and women for military service has become increasingly challenging for Kyiv. There is a growing gap between those who serve and those who have been able to evade mobilization. This injustice is demoralizing and creates growing problems for Ukrainian social-political cohesion.
The main factors responsible for the AFU’s manpower shortage are Ukrainian institutional weakness and corruption, social fatigue and mental exhaustion, deficiencies in military training and leadership, demographic and economic constraints, and the impact of Russian propaganda. There is an intense Ukrainian public, political, and expert debate about how to overcome these hurdles. The main issue is how to motivate more Ukrainians to join voluntarily, become recruited into, and continue serving in the AFU.
A 2024 mobilization law, as well as some further reforms currently being implemented or planned, are addressing the discrepancy between Ukraine’s ongoing need for soldiers and the growing reluctance of men and women to serve in the military. Among other things, the system for registering men eligible for recruitment and potential female soldiers has been upgraded, and the rules of mobilization have been clarified.
Further changes include salary hikes for all categories of military personnel, bonuses upon signing a contract,........