In 2024, Ukraine implemented a grand strategy to address the challenge of a shortage of soldiers by creating new brigades instead of strengthening existing ones. However, experts assessed that the strategy was ineffective and had failed, according to Business Insider on January 6.
Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Ukraine's strategy was "one of the most puzzling force management decisions ever made."
Ukraine investigates French-trained special brigade after desertion reports
“Expanding the force by creating new brigades, while desperately needing more soldiers to make up for losses in experienced formations already deployed on the front lines, clearly has trade-offs,” Mr. Kofman wrote on social media.
Mr. Kofman said that because of their lack of experience, new units generally performed poorly in both offensive and defensive roles. And that, he said, was what happened in 2023. As a result, the strategy collapsed somewhat when the commanders ended up detaching battalions from the new brigades to supplement the older units.
Members of the Ukrainian police patrol Khyzhak Brigade prepare to launch a mortar round towards Russian forces in Donetsk in December 2024.
In May 2024, Ukraine’s leadership announced its intention to create 10 brigades, each consisting of thousands of soldiers, in the hope of achieving the ability to rotate front-line combat. Explaining the intention, a Ukrainian military spokesman said in November 2024 that there was no other option to deal with an overwhelming enemy on a 1,300-kilometer frontline.
Several new brigades were trained in the West, including the 155th Mechanized Brigade. However, the 155th's debut in late 2024 sparked a crisis amid reports of high desertion rates. Moreover, the unit was often withdrawn to supplement other brigades. As a result, the 155th Brigade had to patch together its ranks, with some of its UAV jammers being relegated to infantry roles.
“It is probably foolish to create new brigades and equip them with new technology while the old units are short of manpower,” commented Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, chief of staff of the Azov Brigade.
The 155th Brigade’s problems are the most serious in Ukraine’s management of its forces, Mr. Kofman said. The fragmentation of the new units has led to a disjointed defense effort.
“Technological innovations, better tactics and integration are not enough to compensate for the failure to address fundamental issues… The Ukrainian military needs to address manpower, training and force management issues to sustain the fight,” Kofman said.
Comment (0)