An instructive new article entitled, “Why is Ukraine losing ground? Mobilisation crisis and command failures exposed,” has recently been published online by Euromaidan Press. Its cogency is amplified by the fact that it is, fundamentally, a pro-Ukraine essay.
The author provides an extended, detailed analysis of what has steadily gone wrong for Ukraine, since February, 2022, in its war with Russia. Some time is also devoted to explaining how badly the Russian military has performed and suffered. The essay ultimately proposes ways which may allow Ukraine to rebuild its military response and recover from its current, grimly depleted position. The conclusion argues that:
Ukraine’s internal problems should not dissuade the West from maintaining its support. However, Ukraine’s leadership must also demonstrate through decisive action that this is an existential fight.
In areas where Ukrainian forces have superior training, coordination, planning, and Western-supplied firepower, Russian assaults are decimated. Making such successes the norm rather than isolated cases is crucial.
Strong leadership, effective training, a proper mobilization process, structural improvements, and consistent weapon supplies are the keys to victory. Without them, Russia will keep capturing Ukrainian land.
The headings used are succinct and informative.
In the analysis section we find:
- Mobilisation setbacks and infantry shortages
- Organisational and structural failures
- False reporting and lack of accountability
- The West and the perception of betrayal
- Failed communication and unclear goals
In the remedies section we have:
- Reforming military leadership
- Elevating the conditions of frontline infantry
- Improving the army structure
- Transforming the training system
Notwithstanding the support expressed for a firm Ukrainian victory it is hard not to conclude, after reading this review, that the prospect of securing any such outcome is shrinking conspicuously. The introduction spells out why this is so:
As the war dragged on, minor issues in 2022 became glaring problems by 2025. Ukraine’s professional military core eroded, replaced by mobilized teachers, drivers, farmers, and IT workers. The military’s rapid expansion brought problems initially dismissed as “growing pains.” Three years later, these issues expose systemic failures to adapt, not mere growing pains.
….
A recent damning report on the 155th Anne of Kyiv Brigade exposes deep underlying issues in Ukraine’s military. Despite receiving training in France, the brigade allegedly suffered from high AWOL rates and inadequate initial preparation. It was fragmented and attached to other frontline units — symptomatic of broader systemic problems — ultimately leading to severe underperformance.
These demand attention. Blaming everything on a lack of Western weapons is simplistic and misleading — the brigade was trained in France and wielded Western arms.
It is a long read which repays the effort.
Richard Cullen is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He was previously a Professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
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