Ukrainian Army is in second phase of corps reform, - Syrskyi
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are already in the second phase of their organisational reform. The aim is to improve troop management and reduce the workload on the command structure.
According to Censor.NET, this was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, in an interview with ICTV.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the need for corps reform arose due to a shortage of professional operational-level military command bodies against the backdrop of a rapid increase in the size of the army.
Problems with the old command system
According to Syrskyi, troops were previously commanded by temporary operational-tactical groups (OTGs), whose commanders were appointed for only a few months.
"This significantly affected the quality of command: they did not know their troops and did not feel responsible for the units they commanded. Furthermore, the number of command bodies clearly did not correspond to the number of brigades.
The number of combat brigades was growing – this was an objective process, as the enemy was also building up its forces. The enemy began the aggression with 140,000 troops, and now has 718,000. As a result, the command system was overburdened," he noted.
In the first stage of the reform, corps headquarters were established. A total of 16 corps were formed, 13 of which are part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and two more are part of the National Guard.
Second stage: "corps units"
The second stage of the reform is currently underway, which involves the formation of fully-fledged corps structures.
Within the corps, units for unmanned systems, electronic warfare, artillery brigades, anti-aircraft missile battalions and engineering units are being established.
Certain formations, notably the First Corps of the National Guard and the Third Army Corps, are already fully staffed with their own brigades.
At the same time, according to the Commander-in-Chief, during active hostilities it is impossible to rigidly assign all brigades to specific corps.
"In wartime, it is impossible simply to take and definitively assign brigades to corps. Where possible, we redeploy brigades… It is a dynamic process: the system is constantly changing, manoeuvring and conducting combat operations," he concluded.
