In Ukraine’s million-strong army, 300,000 soldiers are engaged in combat on the front lines

In Ukraine’s Defense Forces, 300,000 individuals are actively engaged in combat, constituting a fraction of the total force of approximately one million.

This fact was highlighted by deputies, who raised the question, ‘What roles are the remaining 700,000 personnel fulfilling?’ The cost of maintaining this force amounts to a minimum of 14 billion hryvnias monthly, totaling no less than 168 billion annually, prompting concerns about prolonged deployments for certain units. She pointed out that some brigades have remained in active duty for up to three years without rotation with exit options limited to those wounded or killed. For instance, this applies to most DSHV brigades.

The observation made by a sniper known as ‘Grandpa,’ who operates near Bakhmut, further emphasized the discrepancy: out of a million personnel, only around 300,000 are deployed to the front lines. Apart from queries about why specific units never see frontline action and others aren’t withdrawn for recovery, it was raised a pertinent concern: why hasn’t the military engaged civilian contractors for several rear operations?