16 Sep, 2023 11:46

Ukrainian conscription officer reveals huge casualty rate

Only 10-20% of those drafted in Poltava Region last fall are still fighting against Russia, Vitaly Berezhny was quoted as saying

Up to nine out of ten Ukrainian army draftees who joined in the last year have been either killed or wounded in action, a senior conscription officer in the country's Poltava Region said on Friday, according to local media.

Speaking at a meeting of Poltava City Council, Lt. Colonel Vitaly Berezhny, who serves as acting head of the of the local recruitment and social support center, admitted that local authorities are struggling with their conscription campaign, having fulfilled only 13% of their conscription quota, placing them last in the region.

Berezhny was quoted by local media outlet Poltavshina as saying the military urgently needs reinforcements, as “out of 100 people who joined the units last fall, 10-20 remain, the rest are dead, wounded or disabled.”

To remedy the manpower shortage, the officer suggested rolling out draft notification posts in a bid to “establish the presence of conscripts.”He added that the region was also planning to create a large mechanized brigade, and urged local deputies to assist in the effort.

Ukraine announced a general mobilization shortly after the start of Russia’s military campaign in February 2022, banning most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. In August, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said Kiev had not yet fulfilled its existing mobilization plan, suggesting there was no need for another draft drive.

However, earlier this month, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry issued a decree allowing the conscription of people with such severe conditions as hepatitis, HIV without symptoms, and clinically treated tuberculosis. At the same time, Ukrainian authorities embarked on a massive campaign against corruption in the country’s conscription system, with President Vladimir Zelensky recently firing all regional military conscription officials.

Berezhny’s acknowledgment comes amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive that has been underway for more than three months but has failed to gain significant ground. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated Ukraine’s losses at more than 71,000 troops. He also suggested that Kiev could enter into negotiations with Moscow only when it comes close to running out of resources to throw at Russian defences, but concluded that Ukraine would need those talks only to restore its battered military potential.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583053-ukraine-army-decimated-losses/

17 Sep, 2023 11:56

Zelensky and Lavrov might cross paths at UN

The Ukrainian leader’s participation at the General Assembly will be another pointless show, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine at the General Assembly next week, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has said.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is scheduled to deliver a speech at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. He is also expected to take part in the Security Council meeting the next day, though this has not been officially confirmed yet.

Asked by RIA Novosti about the possibility of Lavrov and Zelensky crossing paths, Nebenzia replied that “obviously, Russia will take part in the upcoming high-level UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine as it did in all previous Council meetings on this issue.” Lavrov will represent the country at the gathering on September 20, he added.

There have been no high-level contacts between Moscow and Kiev since the failure of the peace talks in Istanbul in late March 2022, a month after the outbreak of the conflict between the neighbors. Last fall, Zelensky signed an official decree forbidding him from negotiating with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian leader’s participation at the General Assembly will be another “show” with “zero” practical results, which is typical for all other “politicized” initiatives of the US and its allies regarding Ukraine, Nebenzia said.

For Zelensky, “the role of comedian on stage is of course familiar, but we, as the founding nation of the UN, are saddened to see… the high platform of this organization being used for self-promotion if not downright travesty,”the envoy said.

A UN source told TASS that Ukraine could be represented by its top diplomat, Dmitry Kuleba, but not Zelensky, at the Security Council meeting. These events do not require heads of states to attend and are usually held on the ministerial level, the source explained. Lavrov and Kuleba last met face to face in early March 2022.

Earlier this week, Politico reported, citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian government official, that Zelensky is planning to use his speech at the UN and in-person meetings with leaders to convince “hesitant” countries to support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.

“To secure a comprehensive, long-lasting peace, we need more than Western political support. We have to have many countries on board, including from the Global South, because their voices matter,” the official said.

https://www.rt.com/news/583091-lavrov-zelensky-un-ukraine/