New soldiers don't know how to shoot

Some new Ukrainian soldiers refuse to shoot at the enemy. Others, according to the commanders and comrades, do not know how to handle weapons and do not know the basics of combat skills. A few have left combat positions and the front, writes the Associated Press agency.

As Ukraine continues to push into Russia's Kursk region, its troops are losing valuable territory on the eastern front, a blow that military commanders partly blame on poorly trained recruits from the recent mobilization, as well as Russia's apparent superiority in ammunition and air power.

“Some people don't want to shoot. They see the enemy in a combat position in the trenches, but they don't open fire... That's why our people are dying," the commander of a battalion in the Ukrainian 47th brigade told AP angrily. "When they don't use weapons, they are ineffective."

These testimonies come from commanders and soldiers who spoke to the US agency on condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive military matters. Others introduced themselves only by code names, in accordance with Ukrainian military protocol. Commanders say the recruits have contributed to a series of territorial losses that have allowed the Russian military to advance, including near the city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub. If the city falls, which is a near certainty, defeat would threaten Ukraine's defenses and bring Russia closer to its goal of seizing Donetsk Oblast. Russian soldiers are now at a distance of ten kilometers from the city.

Ukraine's problems are aggravated by the fact that Russia has a large advantage in manpower and is willing to accept large losses due to the conquest of smaller targets.

Recently recruited Ukrainians are no match for the combat-experienced soldiers who rushed to join the war in the first year of the invasion. The new troops do not even have the minimum level of training, said commanders and soldiers from the four brigades defending the Pokrovsko area. They described how they had to plan operations with infantry unable to hit targets and lacking basic knowledge of topography. Some recruits simply did not trust the battle plans of their superiors and left their prepared positions.

Dissatisfied with the quality of new recruits sent to the front by territorial recruiting centers, commanders are now seeking to conduct their own mobilization campaigns to better select and train new fighters, AP spokespeople said. "The main problem is the survival instinct of newcomers. Previously, people could stay in position until the last moment. Now, even when it comes to light shelling, they retreat," said a soldier from the 110th Brigade.

Not everyone runs away from the fight, he added. "No, there are motivated people, but they are very, very few," he said. "We hold the position as long as there are those people who are motivated and committed".

After implementing a controversial mobilization law in May, which established clearer regulations for territorial recruitment centers, Ukraine is reportedly recruiting tens of thousands of fighters a month. The greatest demand is for infantry.

However, there are logistical hurdles in training, equipping and paying such a large number of new soldiers, and commanders are constantly looking for new recruits. To alleviate this pressure, military leaders were forced to move units from brigades in one region to other areas to stabilize weak points. Some believe that it is wrong for commanders to blame new soldiers for losses.

Viktor Kevlyuk, a military expert from Ukraine's Center for Defense Strategies, said that the recruits are offered quite adequate training. He claims that brigade commanders are "looking for an explanation for tactical failures".

"Also, the brigade commander has the appropriate means to influence morale. If all these processes are established in the brigade, there will be no significant problems. If these mechanisms fail, then we read about negative things on social networks," he added in an interview with AP.

In intense battles, such as the one in Pokrovsk, "timely tactical decisions of the commanders make the difference", Kevlyuk said.

In some cases, terrified new recruits fled the battlefield. "This fear creates panic and chaos," said the battalion commander from the 47th Brigade. "That's also the reason we lost."

The loss of the village of Prohres last month in the Pokrovsk region is the latest example of a territorial loss blamed on new recruits, commanders said. Units from the 31st Brigade left their positions in panic, as a result of which the 47th Brigade was forced to enter the fight and try to stabilize the line. A similar scenario happened in the village of Očeretine in May.

Not enough was done to train newcomers, said the battalion commander. "They don't even get the lowest level of training needed for our (combat) operations," he said.

New soldiers do not have enough practice in using weapons, he added. Also, they have not learned how to coordinate combat tasks in small groups or to use even simple tactics.

"From a command point of view, I would like to issue orders to small (infantry) groups, but I'm not sure they are capable of carrying out those orders due to lack of coordination and communication," he said, adding, "Sometimes, I want to shoot myself."

Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russian territory initially raised hopes that the Kremlin might be forced to share its military resources to respond. However, the Russian forces did not relent in their advance towards Pokrovsk and other potential conquests.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's lightning-fast push into Russian territory has slowed after two weeks with only minor gains, which may indicate that Moscow is now striking back more effectively.

Commanders in the east report that the fighting has become even more intense since the incursion began. On Monday, the local authorities ordered the evacuation of almost 53.000 residents of Pokrovsko within two weeks. In the neighboring town of Mirnograd, which is even closer to Russian positions, residents were given only a few days to evacuate.

The capture of Pokrovsk would disrupt Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region and facilitate Russia's advance towards the eastern cities of Slovyansk and Kostyantinivka. It would also represent Russia's first major strategic victory after months of hard fighting with marginal gains.

Over the past three months, most of Ukraine's territorial losses have been recorded in the Pokrovka region, according to three groups monitoring the conflict through open sources, with fighting intensifying near the towns of Toreck and Chasiv Yar. Russian forces have stepped up attacks in an attempt to take advantage of troop exhaustion and manpower shortages.

The offensive, however, came at a great price for Moscow, and according to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia has lost around 70.000 soldiers in the last two months. Heavy losses continue as Russian forces gradually approach Pokrovsk from the east and southeast.

Another challenge for Ukraine is a new tactic in which Russia is sending smaller infantry units of two to four men in waves. This tactic confuses Ukrainian drone operators, who can hardly target them, according to a drone operator from the 25th Brigade with the call sign "Grut".

"This is one of the main reasons for the (Russian) success in Pokrovsk," he told ASP. "They are harder to detect", especially under the cover of tree tops. "Once the infantry gets under the trees, it's very difficult to get them out of there with drones, and because of that we're very dependent on our infantry."

Residents are fleeing before the Russian army

Marija Moisijeva watched from her bed as her cousin packed her belongings in plastic bags so that this immobile 94-year-old woman could be evacuated from Pokrovsko.

Moisijeva and a small group of elderly and sick people are among the hundreds of residents who left Pokrovsk yesterday in an evacuation ordered by the authorities warning that Russian troops were only ten kilometers from the city.

This is the second time Moisieva has had to flee since Russia launched an invasion in 2022. She left her home in the devastated eastern city of Bahmut before Russian troops captured it in May 2023 after months of fighting.

"Everyone is panicking, people are running away," Lyudmila Sidorenko told Reuters as she packed her things.

"I went outside and was in shock: there were people with cardboard boxes, a mass evacuation. We don't want to go, but we have to. We thought we could stay here. It is very difficult".

Rescuers and volunteers are helping the elderly move to safer areas after authorities this Sunday ordered families with children to leave the city and urged other civilians to leave.

"At the moment, the situation in Pokrovsk and nearby towns has worsened because the Russian army is advancing, they are very close to the town," volunteer Roman Koltsov told Reuters, adding that nearby towns are also threatened and that the population there also needs to be evacuated.