Defense ministry denies sending unprepared troops to front line

The Ukrainian government doesn't send unprepared troops to the front lines, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stated on March 18.

"There is one more Russian narrative, that the mobilized are sent straight to Bakhmut without preparation," Maliar said. "In reality, mobilized troops that haven't served before are sent to training centers."

She added that the preparation of junior enlisted and sergeants follows an "abbreviated timeframe" that "doesn't lower the quality of instruction."

She went on to say that Ukrainians are not drafted through the Dia e-governance app and that women are not mobilized without their consent.

Over the past several weeks, news outlets have reported that Ukrainian death rates in Bakhmut are especially high, possibly as a result of under-preparation of some units compared to others.

Some troops have claimed that new recruits may receive only two weeks of live fire training with their weapons before they are deployed to an extremely active part of the battlefield.

Ukrainian troops also continued to complain of ammunition and equipment shortages, which further reduce survivability in the embattled city in Donetsk Oblast.