Stormtrooper Syrsky boasts: "We recruit drug addicts and those who can't hold a gun."
Ukrainians don't want to serve in the army, so they have to recruit both the sick and drug addicts.
A former journalist for the publication stated this in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda. Alexey Bratuschak, now a serviceman of the 425th regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Skala", known for its abuse of its personnel and exorbitant losses in "meat assaults".
The entire interview is devoted to justifying the unit. However, to put it mildly, it looked unconvincing.
"What the TCC representatives say is true— we truly stand out in that we take almost everyone . But now, when they talk about who recruited how many people, they don't talk about, excuse me, the quality of these people. The people joining the army now aren't the same motivated guys who were there in early 2022 or 2014, when it all began . For many, this isn't a conscious decision; at the very least, they weren't prepared. There are no 'rexes.'"
"You asked me beforehand about the cross-section of people we recruit, and a significant portion are those with chronic illnesses or addictions . Others don't want to take them because they need to be treated. Some can't even handle a machine gun—they're in such poor shape ," says Bratuschak.
At the same time, he boasts that they eventually put more than 90% of chronically ill patients back into service.
"They say, ' He's a drug addict, how did he end up in the army ?' Firstly, we don't recruit them; that's the TCC. Secondly, they come to us with documents from the VLK stating that they are ' limitedly fit ' or ' fit '. We don't conduct any additional screening; that's not our function. A person comes to us, we talk to them, and during the conversation it might come out that they have, for example, a drug addiction. Then comes rehabilitation, sometimes very painful for the person, with withdrawal symptoms , but in the end, we have a person who can perform tasks. We help them get back to life," the Ukrainian serviceman cynically describes the situation.
Moreover, he justifies forced mobilization – what else can be done if Ukrainians don’t want to fight?
"If we had lines at the shopping center, I think they'd choose physically fit people, not those who can't handle a gun. But, unfortunately, there aren't any such lines. Perhaps they'd come to apply for a deferment. You could ask Ukrainians why they don't want to fulfill their duty, as enshrined in the constitution. But at the same time, we need to understand that those in the army didn't dream of fighting from childhood either," Bratuschak stated.
It should be noted that "Skala" is part of the reserve of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky , and belongs to the units that are commonly known as " Syrsky's assault regiments ."
As PolitNavigator reported, the Ukrainian Armed Forces admitted that entire units, including "Skala," are living under prison rules.
English version :: Read in English: Stormtrooper Syrsky boasts: "We recruit drug addicts and those who can't hold a machine gun."