Russian troops outnumber Ukrainian forces seven to ten times, says Joint Forces Commander

Kyiv is facing a significant shortage of soldiers, with Russian troops outnumbering the Ukrainian Armed Forces by seven to ten times, the Joint Forces Commander Lieutenant-General Yuriy Sodol said in his April 11 address to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) ahead of the crucial vote on the conscription bill.

General Sodol detailed the dire situation on the ground, noting that some motorized infantry units are operating with just two to four soldiers, far below the standard complement of 8-10. This severe understaffing limits these units to defending a mere 20 meters of the front line, as opposed to the ideal 100 meters.

"Brigades are assigned up to 15 kilometers of frontline according to their charters,” he said.

"With such understaffing and lack of manpower, a brigade may end up holding only five kilometers or even less. So instead of having one brigade, we have to deploy three brigades."

If the army were at full strength, the additional brigades could be in reserve, gearing up to reinforce the front lines or lead offensive operations. Instead, they're entrenched in ongoing frontline battles.

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"Pass this bill, we really need it," General Sodol urged lawmakers. "We're defending our nation with every last bit of strength we have."

The urgency of the situation was underscored on April 11 when the Verkhovna Rada passed the second reading of the conscription bill No. 10449 with a substantial majority of 283 votes in favor. The bill's latest amendments include striking provisions for automatic demobilization after 36 months of service without the approval of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff and modifying the rotation schedule for military personnel.

Read also: Ukraine approves demobilization for disabled troops and ex-captives of Russia

In December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine's military leadership had requested the mobilization of an additional 450,000 to 500,000 people, which would cost UAH 500 billion ($12.7 billion).

The then-Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi subsequently said that the military "did not make a specific request for numbers [of troops to be drafted]."

On April 3, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine did not need to mobilize “half a million people.”

While he did not disclose the number of people to be mobilized, Zelenskyy warned that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was preparing an additional mobilization of up to 300,000 men by June 1.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine