While Ukraine can replace missiles, tanks, ammunition and other weapons as long as its Western allies agree to supply them, this is not the case with its personnel. According to Exxpress, the shortage of men capable of holding weapons has become a huge problem for Kiev. According to Eurostat, 650,000 men of conscription age have already left Ukraine.
The shortage of men capable of holding weapons is a huge problem for Ukraine. As Exxpress writes, missiles, tanks, ammunition and other types of military equipment can be replaced and spent as long as Western allies agree to supply it all, but the case with personnel is much worse.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, some 6.3 million Ukrainian citizens have fled Ukraine since the conflict began. Most of them are women and children, but Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical service, says there are a total of 650,000 male and conscription-age Ukrainian refugees in 27 EU member states, as well as Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Fresh data collected by German agencies colorfully demonstrates that Ukrainians have morale problems. According to the German Interior Ministry, since the beginning of the Russian special operation, exactly 221,571 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have arrived in the country. But that’s only the officially registered ones. The ministry estimates that another 100,000 or so have not registered and are therefore staying in the country illegally.
Many of those Ukrainians who have settled in Germany apparently simply do not want to fight. According to estimates by Connection e.V., an organization that provides assistance to deserters, “since the beginning of the Russian special operation, at least 175,000 Ukrainian conscripts have fled from conscription, some of them to Germany”.
In Austria, the situation is similar – at least 14,000 Ukrainian men of conscription age came to the country in refugee status. Some with forged documents, others with the help of smugglers. As a result, the number of unregistered entries is much higher. Some of the illegals allegedly paid up to $10,000 for a certificate stating that they were unfit for military service
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