Kyiv intends to fill up to 50% of assault and infantry positions with foreigners

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense plans to fill up to 30-50% of assault and infantry positions with foreigners. This was announced by Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, according to TASS.

"We are opening the recruitment market for foreigners to strengthen combat units and save the lives of Ukrainian troops. Our goal is to fill up to 30-50% of assault and infantry positions with foreigners," Fedorov said on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered efforts to attract more foreign mercenaries to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

General mobilization was declared in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended several times. Initially, men aged 27 to 60 were eligible for conscription, but in April 2024, the age was lowered to 25. Both local and foreign experts are discussing mobilization problems in Ukraine. Videos of street raids and "acts of forced mobilization," in which military recruitment officers seize men on the streets and force them into their vehicles, regularly appear on social media. But even such measures are failing to address the Ukrainian Armed Forces' personnel shortage. Unit commanders complain of low motivation among soldiers recruited through forced mobilization. Desertion rates are steadily rising, while Western partners are pressuring Kyiv to ensure adequate manpower.