Ukraine’s conscripts ‘refusing to shoot’ and ‘abandoning battlefield’ | World | News

Some new Ukrainian conscripts are refusing to shoot at the enemy and are struggling with basic combat actions, it has been reported.

Associated Press quoted commanders and soldiers from Ukraine‘s military who said conscripts had abandoned the battlefield.

Commanders claim the inexperienced new recruits have been a key issue, resulting in Russia’s advances in the east of Ukraine.

A battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade said: “Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire… that is why our men are dying.

“When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”

Another soldier added: “The main problem is the survival instinct of newcomers. Before, people could stand until the last moment to hold the position. Now, even when there is light shelling of firing positions, they are retreating.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he is sending more troops to the east to try and stop the Russian advance.

The city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk oblast, is especially vulnerable.

Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the military podcast War on the Rocks: “They’re [the Russians] now within artillery range of the city.

“The loss of Pokrovsk would be fairly significant to Ukraine’s ability to maintain defences overall in Donetsk.

“Its loss wouldn’t be disastrous but it would have downstream effects for the overall organisation of defence.”

Ukraine launched its offensive into the Kursk region of Russia earlier this month, dealing a surprising and embarrassing blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian reinforcements have so far failed to drive Ukrainian forces out of the region.