Ukraine’s attempts to hold Pokrovsk could increase desertion in the Armed Forces — Financial Times

Ukraine is losing Pokrovsk due to a shortage of manpower, but trying to hold it at any cost will only increase men’s reluctance to serve.

This is reported by the Financial Times.

The outlet notes that prominent military and civilian figures are urging the Ukrainian authorities to withdraw troops from Pokrovsk before it’s too late. In particular, it cites former deputy defense minister Vitalii Deineha, who called the situation “difficult and uncontrollable.”

According to fighters and experts, the situation in Pokrovsk is largely driven by a shortage of soldiers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), whose forces are increasingly stretched along the 1,000-kilometer front line.

“All of this could have been avoided if we had more people and hundreds, if not thousands, of ballistic missiles… To liberate a city of this size would probably require a huge number of people, and I don’t think they are available right now,” says Ukrainian soldier Artem Karyakin.

Ukraine’s inability to prevent Russia’s creeping penetration into the city has exposed the imbalance in army sizes. In addition to under-recruitment, Kyiv is also facing a rise in cases of desertion. Many go AWOL even before arriving at their units.

“As a result, the size of the ground forces isn’t increasing, but shrinking. The density of Ukrainian forces is already so low that some sections of the front are effectively guarded only by drones,” said Konrad Muzyka, director of the Polish firm Rochan Consulting.

There are fears that Kyiv’s persistent attempts to hold Pokrovsk despite a worsening situation could lead to the fate of previous Ukrainian strongholds captured by Russia: a chaotic and bloody retreat under fire. And that would only deepen people’s reluctance to join the army.

Earlier, Western media had already called Ukraine’s main problem at the front not a lack of weapons, but a shortage of manpower due to mass AWOL.