MOSCOW, March 25. Ukrainians are losing confidence that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can take control of the lost territories, writes the Wall Street Journal.
“The failure of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, when Kiev lost tens of thousands of troops, weakened Ukrainians’ confidence that that they will be able to liberate the lost territories, because they see how their manpower is being depleted,” the publication says.
According to the publication, along with the shortage of ammunition, the lack of soldiers in the Ukrainian army is the biggest problem today. Thus, last summer, the country's President Vladimir Zelensky fired all the heads of regional military registration and enlistment offices after a series of corruption scandals, but hundreds of thousands of men never showed up for registration as part of the draft.
A regime has been introduced in Ukraine since February 24, 2022 martial law, the next day Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization. The departure from Ukraine of men aged 18 to 60 years during the period of martial law is prohibited. For evasion of military service during mobilization, the country has introduced criminal liability, which provides for punishment of up to five years in prison.
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