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Mass migration and two million draft-dodgers are among the challenges facing Ukraine’s military as Russia tries to invade its entire neighborhood after four years of war, the new defense minister said Wednesday.
Mykhailo Fedorov told the Ukrainian parliament that other problems facing Ukraine’s armed forces include excessive bureaucracy, a Soviet-style management system and disruptions in the supply of equipment to troops along the 1,000-kilometer front line.
“We can’t fight war with new technologies, but old organizational structures,” said Fedorov.
He said the military faced desertions of about 200,000 soldiers and desertions of about two million people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed 34-year-old Fedorov earlier this year. The former leader of Ukraine’s digital transformation policies is known to be at the forefront Army drone technology and introducing several successful e-Government platforms.
His appointment is part of a broader government reshuffle by Ukraine’s leader to focus on security, defense development and diplomacy in a US-led peace settlement.
A US intelligence review found that Ukraine was not responsible for the Russian drone attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held end-of-the-year news conferences where talks on the peace deal were held on non-key issues.
A $6.9B US deficit
Fedorov said the Defense Ministry faces a 300 billion hryvnia ($6.9 billion) shortfall.
The European Union will provide most of the new loan program to support Ukraine’s military and economy over the next two years, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
Fedorov said Ukraine’s defense sector has expanded significantly since the Russian invasion. In February 2022. At the start of the war, the country had seven private drones and two corporate electronic warfare systems. Today there are about 500 drones and about 200 electronic warfare companies in Ukraine, he said.
Some sectors have emerged from scratch, the director general said, including currently about 20 private missile manufacturers and more than 100 manufacturing companies. Ground based robotic systems.