Out of 10 Ukrainian Armed Forces brigades, only 2.5 have been equipped, Zelensky revealed the actual issues facing the military.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces still lack adequate weaponry. This is despite promises from Western partners to provide everything necessary for them. However, there are no issues with the number of available servicemen.

The Ukrainian leader made this statement in an interview with Sky News. According to him, military assistance is being delivered very slowly. Allied countries promised to equip 10 brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with weapons and equipment, but have only provided resources for 2.5 of them. This is a real issue.

"They talk about mobilization, but the real problem lies with the 10 brigades that our partners have not equipped. I pleaded with them over a year ago that we need to equip these brigades. We made decisions with the United States and European allies, and to date, Europe and the United States have fully equipped two and a half brigades," Zelensky said.

Among the reasons for this situation, the president mentioned "some bureaucracy, certain decisions, and some do not consider it a priority," emphasizing that "it is always like this in this war." He added that even despite this, he is grateful to partners for their support, but considers discussions about mobilizing youth inappropriate. According to Zelensky, there currently seems to be no issue with the number of servicemen, which cannot be said about weapons.

"Someone asked me about mobilization, and I do not want to assert that this is the position of some leaders in Europe. They say young people are needed, etc. And I replied: do you want someone to go to their death without weapons?" – quoted the Ukrainian guarantor.

The president emphasized that partners need to do their part, and Ukraine must do its own. Mobilization is indeed a prerogative of our country. Zelensky also stressed that if there is "great pressure" on Russia from the elected U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union, the war could be concluded by 2025.

Reforms and Armament of the Military

Ukraine has begun reforming its army and has made several important structural changes. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that generals of the Armed Forces should be on the front lines, not just in headquarters. This is a key aspect of reforming the management approaches of the military. In his opinion, this is the only way to make management more effective and reduce the level of bureaucracy in the army.

Also, at the end of November, the Armed Forces of Ukraine plan to introduce a "corps-brigade" system. This will allow for optimizing human and material resources. Journalist Yuriy Butusov emphasized that the Ukrainian army remains the only one in the world that does not use divisions and corps in combat operations. He proposed to restore such a structure that existed in the Armed Forces up until 2016.

A real and transparent mechanism for transfers for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine between military units has also been implemented through the "Army+" application. In Zelensky's opinion, this is an important example of absolutely constructive cooperation between the military leadership and the team of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on one side and representatives of public organizations on the other.