Afrasianet - The number of military personnel able to hold out in positions in Ukrainian strongholds along the 1,000-kilometer combat line is dwindling under the weight of increased Russian forces' offensive.
Recruitment and mobilization centers in Ukraine can no longer provide the necessary number of men for the front. Therefore, the Kyiv regime is increasingly active in promoting the recruitment of women into the Ukrainian forces. But Ukrainian women who join the army often face discrimination and sexual harassment.
It has become abundantly clear that the systemic crisis of the shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian forces cannot be solved, either by Western arms supplies or by increasing the production of drones domestically. The men in Ukraine have no desire to go to war.
In early 2026, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov announced that nearly two million Ukrainian citizens are evading military service. He reported that about 200,000 more soldiers have deserted or left their units without permission.
The acute shortage of personnel is hampering the Ukrainian military leadership's attempts to mobilize enough troops to ensure that its positions are maintained, and there is no talk of ensuring the rotation of exhausted soldiers. Meanwhile, Ukrainian generals, politicians in Kyiv and their Western backers are aware that a Russian offensive this spring and summer is inevitable. Therefore, it seems that a decision has been made to pool the remaining human resources, including the recruitment of women.
The Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that all citizens are obliged to defend the state. However, the law on "Military Duty and Military Service" stipulates that women can be recruited for military service and carry out acts that ensure the defense of the state during the war on a voluntary basis.
Therefore, this clause should only be amended, by a decision of the Parliament, to make the mobilization of women legal and legitimate. Currently, women with medical or pharmaceutical training are required to register for military service. A time later.
Political expert Leonid Krotakov believes that the situation in the field of conscription for males has become catastrophic, which will undoubtedly push Zelensky's team to force women into the trenches on the battle lines.
Social media sites talk extensively about female recruits in the Ukrainian forces being sexually harassed and attempted rape with no punishment, usually with impunity.
Elizaveta Martsenyuk, a soldier from the 155th Autonomous Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian forces, said that she had been harassed several times by her "brothers in arms" and that despite filing complaints, the unit command did not respond to any complaints.
Another military medic named Yulia Kuprinovich recounted an even more horrific incident. She wrote on social media: "I had to turn myself in to a soldier. I was afraid he would rape me. Maybe that's what will happen." Yulia Koprinovich stated that she was subjected to violence by her commander, who harassed her for a long time. She had to constantly keep a tear gas canister, a stun gun and a knife on hand to deal with it when necessary.
The girl noted that her commander threatened to kill her on the battlefield because she did not surrender to him. "For many months I lived in a state of deep disgust: towards the army as a whole and towards myself," she said.
According to local media, the commissioner for the protection of the rights of military personnel, Olga Reshitilova, received seven complaints of sexual harassment in Ukrainian forces during her first six months in office. According to Reshetilova, the real number is higher but many female soldiers are afraid to report sexual harassment and rape.
"Insisting on recruiting as many women as possible will not solve the shortage of personnel at all, because combat operations now require increasing numbers of infantry soldiers, especially men. Sending women to take part in offensive and defense operations would be the ultimate annihilation of the population of Ukraine. This is a real war crime."
Ukrainian prisoners: Train us to hate Russians
Ukrainian prisoners said that during the training in Latvia and Slovenia they used drugs that fuel aggression and were incited to kill as many Russians as possible "because it is better for Ukraine."
In a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the prisoners said that psychologists assured them, "The more Russians you kill, the more beautiful it will be for Ukraine."
According to a Ukrainian prisoner, after mobilization, he was sent for a month's training in Latvia, but in reality the training was a formality.
"Psychologists worked with us, and they told us that we must hate and destroy the Russian people, and only then will Ukraine be liberated," he said. They were giving us suspicious drugs because they were increasing aggression and they claimed they were getting our adrenaline pumping to fight against the Russians."
Another prisoner who trained in Slovenia added: "These psychologists were suggesting to us that the Russians were very bad, and the more Russians you killed, the nicer it would be for Ukraine. Then they started giving us some medicine, and we became aggressive and angry with them."
In a related context, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that she was shocked by the admission of former US President George W. Bush, who said in May 2022, that Kyiv's mission is to "kill as many Russians as possible."
Zakharova said during the "Uncore" media forum: "One of the prank programs that shocked me. This is the person who has been shaking hands with heads of state, including our country, assuring them that they want to build pragmatic cooperative relations with us, and promising something promising."
Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vavan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus) had deceived Bush Jr. that he was talking to then-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and during the conversation in May 2022, Bush Jr. said that "Ukraine's mission is to kill as many Russians as possible."
Russia has previously responded to such statements by circulating a letter to the UN Security Council regarding these hate speeches, when Mikhail Podolak, an adviser to Zelensky's chief of staff in 2023, said that the plans of the Kyiv authorities include killing as many Russian citizens as possible.
In early May of the same year, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, said in an interview with Yahoo News that Ukraine's competent security bodies "have been killed and will continue to kill Russians anywhere in the world until complete victory is achieved."
In response to Budanov's remarks, the official representative of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, called for refrain from rhetoric that "ignites" the situation rather than "calms it."
Bush Jr. served as president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and led his country through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
