Ukraine defence minister says 200,000 deserted as 2 million dodged draft

Wide-scale desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers are among a raft of challenges facing Ukraine's military as Russia presses on with its invasion of its neighbour after almost four years of fighting, the new defence minister said Wednesday.

Mykhailo Fedorov told Ukraine's parliament that other problems facing Ukraine's armed forces include excessive bureaucracy, a Soviet-style approach to management, and disruptions in the supply of equipment to troops along the about 1,000-kilometre front line.

"We cannot fight a war with new technologies but an old organisational structure," Fedorov said.

He said the military had faced some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people.

 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed 34-year-old Fedorov at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine's digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the the army's drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

His appointment was part of a broad government reshuffle that the Ukrainian leader said aimed to sharpen the focus on security, defence development and diplomacy amid a new US-led push to find a peace settlement.

Fedorov said the defence ministry is facing a shortfall of 300 billion hryvnia (USD 6.9 billion) in funding needs.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan programme to help fund Ukraine's military and economy over the next two years, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

Fedorov said Ukraine's defence sector has expanded significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. At the start of the war, he said, the country had seven private drone companies and two firms developing electronic warfare systems. Today, he said, there are nearly 500 drone manufacturers and about 200 electronic warfare companies in Ukraine.

He added that some sectors have emerged from scratch, including private missile producers, which now number about 20, and more than 100 companies manufacturing ground-based robotic systems.