It costs a lot of people in war.
Half a million new soldiers must be called up to defend Ukraine – but it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill the ranks.
– Now many have relaxed, says a recruitment officer at the Azov battalion to TV4 Nyheterna.
The Russian war of aggression, which has now been going on for 22 months, is costing enormous amounts of human life. TV4 News’ dispatcher in Kiev has met one of the many Ukrainian mothers who lost a son in the war.
– I come here for a while every day. I really can’t understand that my son… I’m still waiting for him, says Kateryna Nechai.
– The pain is so enormous that you only feel it after a while. It is so deep, she continues.
Bloodiest in 80 years
The war is the bloodiest in Europe in 80 years – and there is no end in sight.
New soldiers are needed all the time. Half a million more men should be called up, according to the Ukrainian military leadership, but it has become increasingly difficult to replenish the ranks.
– When the war broke out, we had plenty of volunteers, but now many have relaxed. We hope people realize that the war will not end anytime soon. The war will last a long time and we hope for new volunteers, says “Klim”, recruitment manager at the Azov battalion.
Locked positions
Petty Officer Alex Savyn, who is on site in Kiev for his first leave in over a year, agrees.
– The Ukrainians must do more. When you see that people don’t care about the war and when they don’t really understand how it is that they have the opportunity to shop, drink coffee and just live their normal lives, it feels quite painful to us, he says.
The war in Ukraine is going slowly and in several places the positions on the battlefield are locked. Faced with increasingly bleak winter weather, Ukrainian forces are now taking a more defensive position, according to a new report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
“In recent weeks, the Ukrainian army has made efforts to strengthen its defense lines, and is taking an increasingly defensive stance along the front,” the ministry writes in its analysis.