"95 per cent of citizens are being mobilised without issue, but approach needs to be changed," - Fedorov regarding organisational shortcomings in work of TCR
Ukraine must radically change its approach to the recruitment of conscripts at military registration and enlistment centres, as the current organisational shortcomings are taking a heavy toll on people’s morale. At the same time, the reality of mobilisation differs significantly from the negative narrative on social media: around 95 per cent of citizens join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a normal manner without any incidents.
This was stated by Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in an interview with TSN as part of the national telethon ‘Yedyni Novyny’, reports Censor.NET.
Organisational shortcomings in the work of the TCR
Fedorov noted that there is currently a great deal of information circulating about how the TCR operates, and that there is a certain degree of public outrage.
"Every month, tens of thousands of people are mobilised into the ranks of the Ukrainian army. Around 95 per cent of these citizens go through the process in the normal way, and their situation is radically different from the picture often portrayed on Telegram channels... On the one hand, we need to strengthen our position on the battlefield and destroy the enemy; on the other, we are seeing cases of forced mobilisation, which is causing justified outrage. It’s like performing heart surgery when there’s a shortage of equipment and no electricity. But you have to do it to keep the heart from stopping. There are, in fact, many difficulties," said the government official.
The Defence Minister emphasised the need for reform to address the issues that have come to a head in society: "Because social unity is something that Putin does not understand and did not understand in 2022, when he made a huge mistake. And we need to preserve that unity."
The minister’s personal inspection: "A lad in shorts carrying a bag"
At the same time, the minister acknowledged that there had been serious shortcomings at the recruitment centres themselves. Fedorov said that he had personally visited the centres where conscripts are processed, where he observed instances of utterly unacceptable treatment of future defenders.
"I saw a lad standing there in shorts with a bag, who’d been forcibly mobilised that morning. It was already four o’clock; I asked why they hadn’t let him get dressed. And there were many other issues. I mean, when a person ends up in a place like that and in that state, their first question is: what happens next? And things will only get worse if this is how they’re received," Fyodorov said indignantly, emphasising that such a negative first experience instantly undermines a recruit’s psychological state.
Launch of a comprehensive reform of the army
- As a reminder, on 12 June, the Ministry of Defence officially announced the launch of the most comprehensive reform of the military service system. Unique contract formats with clear terms (from 10 months) are being introduced, along with pay for infantry (up to 460,000 UAH per month), a fast-track return for servicemen from the Strategic Reserve, and the large-scale recruitment of foreign volunteers for the front line.
