Ukraine Ramps Up Mobilization, Hoping to Bolster Battlefield Strength

Ukraine’s campaign to replenish its war-weary troops is ramping up and should help fill personnel gaps on the front line in the coming weeks, according to Ukrainian officials, soldiers and military analysts.

The mobilization push has so far not significantly bolstered Ukraine’s forces on the battlefield, those people say. Many conscripts are still completing the weekslong training process and have yet to reach the front. And some recruits who have arrived are not physically fit for combat, members of Ukrainian units have noted.

But several brigades deployed on the battlefield have reported an increase in the number of conscripts they have received in recent weeks. They said they were hoping that the influx of soldiers would help Ukraine to stabilize the front line this summer.

Nazar Voytenkov, press officer for the 33rd Mechanized Brigade, said on Friday that his unit had “received more newbies this month” than they had at the beginning of the year. “And today I was told that more are coming to us,” he added.

The Ukrainian authorities have declined to share conscription figures, arguing that the information is confidential. Three military experts with knowledge of the figures said that Kyiv had been drafting up to 30,000 people a month since May, when a new conscription law took effect. That is two to three times more than during the last winter months, they said, and about the same number that the Russian Army is recruiting each month. That figure could not be independently confirmed.

The experts spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential numbers.

Lt. Serhiy Skibchyk, press officer of the 65th Brigade, which is fighting in southern Ukraine, said, “The situation is slightly improving compared to the end of 2023, when there was a severe shortage of people.” Small groups of conscripts are now trickling into his unit every week, he noted, “But our needs still exceed the number of people we’re getting.”