Ukraine's Ministry of Defense explains comments on plans to mobilize 500,000 people to FT

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has explained its comments to the Financial Times regarding the need to mobilize up to 500,000 Ukrainians to replace exhausted military personnel on the front line, as stated in the full text of the commentary published by the defense department.

During the conversation with journalists, representatives of the department said that for security reasons, they cannot comment on the exact number of people needed to be involved in the Defense Forces, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The ministry stated that the figure of 400,000-500,000 people was named as "general estimates," which may change depending on the development of hostilities and cannot be fulfilled immediately.

In addition, the Ministry of Defense responded to the question of why it is not possible to mobilize employees of the SBU and the police, who have partial training, instead of ordinary citizens. The defense department said that it is impossible to resist full-scale aggression with the help of professionals alone.

"When a state with a three times larger population and a significant advantage in the number of troops and the capacity of the military-industrial complex attacked Ukraine, the mobilization of citizens fit for military service is the only mechanism that allows to restrain the enemy and save the country, cities, people," the response reads.

Today, FT reported, citing the Ministry of Defense, that there are 330,000 "exhausted" military personnel on the front line, and they need to be replaced. The rest of the 500,000 recruits will compensate for losses and meet other military needs, depending on the situation on the battlefield.

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