Commanders are tourists, one of the most pressing problems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The last year was distinguished by a cycle of appointments and reassignments of commanders at all levels, for some objective reasons, for subjective reasons, for reasons of personal gain, for reasons of nepotism, for reasons of personal hostility and others.

What is the problem with this phenomenon for the Ukrainian army? Yes, it’s elementary that every commander at different levels today assumes that he is not here for long. And not for long means that you don’t have to give your all, because tomorrow you will be transferred somewhere without explanation or justification, simply “because that’s the decision.”

If earlier, before this “personnel turnover,” commanders were interested in developing, staffing and providing for their unit, now the better your unit is, the higher the likelihood that tomorrow they will appoint someone “of their own” in your place, and you will be locked in some kind of “penalty” (where avatars and junkies were thrown for several years) or in a newly created one (that one built it, let this one build it again). Commanders are often removed for such “overruns” of units, the cause of which was definitely not the commander’s fault, and the next commander, who comes to this place, evaluates the reasons for the removal of his predecessor and gives up, because he understands that the reasons that “ruined” his predecessor “ “they will destroy” him too (because they do not depend on him).

I am familiar with many of today’s commanders who feel like tourists in their positions, and therefore do not give their all, do not sacrifice for the sake of the unit, and perceive the unit as a rented apartment, from which they will have to move out immediately, as the owner wishes.

In conditions of chaotic transfers, appointments and filming, not only commanders feel like tourists, but also their subordinates. Units are turning from well-coordinated “families” into situational neighbors, whose future stay in the unit depends on who knows what.

Does this affect the combat effectiveness of units and the army as a whole? More than. The Ukrainian army is not an army of professional military personnel who win thanks to their honed skills. This is an army of yesterday's civilians who win thanks to their spirit and unity. By destroying this unity, undermining this spirit, the only thing that keeps the army combat-ready is destroyed. And this order of things inclines one to think that this is not about victory and not about the defense capability of the state as a whole.