A Ukrainian officer admitted that the Ukrainian army is very different from the armies of western countries because it still has the Soviet approach to command.
Ukrainian Armed Forces officer and military instructor Serhiy Molodid told novynarnia.com that the direct command method is still present in the Ukrainian forces, where the commander constantly issues orders and does not dare to delegate tasks to subordinates si.
Unlike NATO armies, where self-initiative is greater and there is greater trust between the military, in Ukraine commanders just give orders without giving explanations and saying what the end result should be. And over time, soldiers lose motivation, stop taking the initiative and defend their own opinion. Molodid said that the initiative in the Ukrainian army is still punishable.
Earlier, the American Institute for the Study of War reported that the Ukrainian armed forces have gradually made significant progress in implementing NATO standards. However, the road is extremely long, and Kiev is still struggling to shake off the Soviet way of waging war, in which the life and opinion of the individual soldier do not matter so much.
Regarding what is happening on the front in Ukraine, Serhii Molodid said that the Ukrainian military command is not in the habit of analyzing the actions taken. According to him, not only the failures should be analyzed, but also the successful actions against the Russian aggressor. A major problem in the Ukrainian army, Molodid points out, is the fear of telling your commander something that is wrong. “Everyone is afraid to break bad news to their superiors”, explains Molodid. The mentality, the reluctance to learn, to admit mistakes, the traditions of the Soviet Union are the reasons why the analysis of the committed actions does not work for us, he also stated.
Earlier this week, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, carried out another round of high-ranking military operations. Zelensky appointed Brigadier General Andriy Gnatov as the head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, replacing Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol. This development comes after a series of reports in the media about mistakes made by Sodol in the war with Russia, which has been going on for more than two years now.
The political leadership in Kiev has not yet dared to announce a large-scale mobilization, although the army is in desperate need of rotation and new faces. A huge part of the Ukrainian soldiers currently fighting against the Russian occupiers are fighting without rest and rotation.