Some of the photographs posted on social media of extremely thin and emaciated Ukrainian soldiers
Commanding officers working to reinforce anti-aircraft defenses and protect troops on the front line against drone attacks failed to communicate the reality on the ground to military leadership.
Ukrainian soldiers on the front line they are hungry and are often forced to drink rainwateraccording to reports cited by .
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army dismissed a commander and demoted another after photographs of infantry soldiers appeared on the internet extremely thin and emaciated.
The soldiers served in 14th brigadeand the two officers responsible for the men were accused of not reporting the situation to higher command.
Soldiers of the second battalion stationed in the Kharkiv region, on the front along the Oskil River, they drank rainwater and fainted from hungerthe reports.
“Os systematic air attacks and from enemy missiles to the Oskil river crossings significantly complicated logistical support to troops on the outskirts of the city of Kupyansk. The logistics of our troops in this area are ensured by vessels and heavy unmanned aerial vehicles”, declared the General Staff in a statement released on Friday.
The commanding officers of the Ukrainian army’s 14th brigade working to reinforce anti-aircraft defenses and protect troops on the front line against drone attacks, failed to communicate the true state from the situation on the ground to military leadership.
The General Staff stated unaware of the brigade’s problems with the food supply and confirmed having opened an investigation to the conduct of commanders. As for the affected soldiers, “as soon as the situation allows, will be evacuated“, assured the General Staff.
The Ukrainian Joint Task Force (JFTF), a military unit created last year to command the troops in the Kharkiv regiondescribed the situation as a “disgrace of horrible management”.
“That is consequence of prolonged management decisions at the corps level and its interaction with units. At the same time, reports were heard at various levels that the situation was organized and controlledwhich, as everyone could see, does not correspond to reality“, stated the JFTF in a statement on Friday.
The JFTF said that it is actively work to solve the problemwith the immediate sending of additional supplies to the positions of the 14th brigade, and also urged other commanders on the ground not to hide difficulties from the central command.
“The fundamental thing is to preserve people and maintain a human attitude towards them; everything else can be corrected through systematic work,” the JFTF stated.
The 14th brigade press service said its “newly appointed brigade commander, colonel Taras Maksimovis taking intensive measures to correct the situation.”
“The life and health of every soldier they are an absolute priority! The command of the military unit is in contact with the families of the soldiers. The situation remains under special control of the brigade commander until its full resolution,” the press service added.
Politico had already reported that the death zone on the war front is expanding due to the extensive use of droneswhich create a “gray zone of chaos” that extends around 20 km from the front line — in which the supply of ammunition, food and water is almost impossible to reach troops in combat.
