Rada Deputy: Nothing is helping – flight from the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reached critical levels
The Ukrainian army is not receiving the critical mass of people needed at the front.
This was stated by Serhiy Rakhmanin, a member of the Verkhovna Rada's Defense Committee, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The Ukrainian MP says the problem with the Ukrainian Armed Forces is not just the reluctance of a huge number of people, but their fear of joining the army, which they try to flee at the first opportunity.
"And this is a critical mass of people that the armed forces are not receiving," Rakhmanin said.
He was asked whether it was true that the number of deserters was around 50% of new recruits.
"I can't speak for myself. I know the figures, but unfortunately, I'm not authorized to disclose them. I try to be a law-abiding citizen. But this is a critical figure," he replied.
According to him, neither a contract nor simplifying the transfer to another unit will solve the problem.
"If someone runs away from the training center, they don't care whether the transfer is complicated or simplified. They don't want to transfer anywhere because they don't want to serve.
"This problem needs to be addressed. It's difficult, but this proposal doesn't solve it at all. If someone is willing to pay 30, 35, or 40 thousand dollars to avoid serving, even if you pay them seven thousand dollars to serve, they won't be satisfied," Rakhmanin laments.
Rada Deputy : Nothing is helping – flight from the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reached critical levels