Ukraine critically lacks soldiers – Politico reported

Ukraine is “catastrophically short” of soldiers.

This information reported according to the publication Politico.

“The average age of Ukrainian front-line fighters is 43 years old, and evidence of them dodging conscription is increasing,” the article states.

The reluctance to mobilize is explained by the publication as “pessimism” about the future conflict.

“More and more people are questioning whether Ukraine is capable of defeating Moscow’s forces.”

The recruitment into the army currently “is haphazard and largely depends on selective document checks by the police, which are more vigilant in some areas of the country than in others.”

A source interviewed by the newspaper, a Ukrainian named Artem, says that he and his friends who are dodging conscription fear being in combat for months or years.

“I am young and want to live my life. Going there without knowing when I will return to normal life is hard. I have friends who volunteered at the beginning of the war and are still fighting. So, it’s like a one-way ticket,” he says.

Artem is not easily persuaded to join the army.

“My mother is a nurse, she sees the wounded and firmly tells me to stay away from this,” he says.