Inspector General of the Bundeswehr meets new Commander

2024-02-09T21:02:57.041Z

Highlights: Newly appointed commander of the Ukrainian military meets with his colleagues to discuss further arms deliveries. Commander-in-chief tells them that only around 300,000 soldiers have been sent to the war zone. He says that this is not enough and needs to be replaced with more troops. He also says that the country needs more money to fund the war effort, which has already cost the country billions of dollars. The new commander is expected to be in place by the end of the year, when the war with Russia is due to end.

The new head of the Ukrainian military consulted with his German colleague Carsten Breuer. The talks in Kiev are also said to have been about further arms deliveries.

Enlarge image

Carsten Breuer, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, in May 2023

Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa

The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, met the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, in Kiev to discuss further German weapons aid. Syrsky informed his German colleagues about the situation at the front and thanked Germany for its help in strengthening the Ukrainian army. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerov announced this on the X platform and also published photos.

Syrsky had previously taken over the post from the previous highest military officer, Valeriy Saluschny. Expectations of the new commander-in-chief are high. An adviser in the presidential office said on Ukrainian television that Syrsky needed to take stock because out of a million soldiers mobilized for the war, only around 300,000 were deployed. It must be clarified who is deployed where. Only then can it be said how many recruits are still needed. Many soldiers are therefore far removed from war. It also needs to be clarified how those who have already been in combat operations for almost 24 months can be replaced by rotation.

The military has called for hundreds of thousands of additional soldiers to defend itself against the Russian war of aggression, which began on February 24, 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said that although around 500,000 soldiers were requested, their deployment also had to be financed. He had shown reluctance in view of the billions spent.

Zelensky expects his new military leader to be successful in the fight against the Russian invasion after the major offensive under Saluzhny last year fell well short of expectations. “We cannot be in a state of stagnation in 2024,” said Podoljak. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian attacks with Western arms support for almost two years.

kfr/dpa

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr meets new Commander

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