“The key to the fighting ability of our military units and ultimately Ukraine’s victory is that military discipline is followed.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wrote this on 2 February in a written explanation of why he would not veto the new law. It toughens the penalties for those convicted of breaching discipline in the Ukrainian armed forces. When news visited several departments in the Ukrainian defense at the front in the Donbas in the east of the country in January, this law was a topic of conversation among many soldiers and non-commissioned officers. – This law must be changed and the focus must instead be directed to the leadership of the Ukrainian defense and to those who sit at the very top of society. So said the soldier Denis, whom news met in the village of Drobisheva in the north of Donetsk county. – It is completely wrong that we who fight at the front should be threatened with many years in prison if we want to have to leave positions that we cannot hold because we do not have weapons and supplies, due to bad management, Denis said. According to Denis, European leaders should take up the new law on discipline in the Ukrainian defense with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Lokman Ghourbani/news The law provides a penalty of up to eight years in prison for refusing an order. Ten years if you do not show up for duty or leave your department. This is a significant tightening of the current regulations. Ukraine’s supporter must take up the matter Denis will not give his surname, but says he is not afraid to state his view on this matter. He appeals to all of Ukraine’s supporters in Europe to raise this matter with President Zelenskyi. He himself is a good example of those who now form the core of the Ukrainian army, which in the course of a year has grown to close to a million soldiers. – I chose to stay in Ukraine to fight for my country, says Denis. He comes from Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk county, a city that comes under attack from the Russian forces on the other side of the Dnipro river almost every day. When news met him, he was on his way to the front a little further north in Luhansk county. He was sitting in a green pickup truck with the cargo bed filled with grenades. The loading plan on Denis’s car was full of grenades to be transported to the front. Photo: Lokman Ghorbani Denis believes that the new law has caused a lot of frustration among those who fight in the front line in the now more than a year-long war against the Russian invaders. He believes that there has been incompetence at many levels in the leadership in Ukraine, right up to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia on the offensive in Donbas Did the Ukrainian army fail in February 2022? Many who have been fighting ever since the Russian aggression began in 2014 believe that Zelenskyj took the Russian threat far too lightly. Among others, this well-known blogger Yuri Butusov believes this was one of the reasons for the great progress of the Russian forces at the start of the offensive in February 2022. Ukraine: On its knees, but not beaten Especially in the south, the Russian forces were able to advance almost without resistance , against cities such as Kherson and Mariupol. An armored Ukrainian vehicle is transported through the town of Lyman. Photo: Lokman Ghorbani/news There is little doubt that Denis and many of the others who have no military background, but who are now fighting in the war, have had problems conforming to discipline. The reason is, among other things, that they see that the management at many levels is very poor and sometimes also makes decisions that lead to large losses. Most of the people who today make up the Ukrainian army had no prior military experience. Photo: LEAH MILLIS / Reuters “An army of slaves” At the same time, Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny defends the new laws on the grounds that more comprehensive legislation is needed that is fair to all. – The army is based on discipline. And if the loopholes in the legislation do not ensure compliance, and those who evade their assigned duties can pay a fine of up to 10 percent of their match pay or receive a suspended sentence, this is unfair. Zaluzjnyi says this in a video in an attempt to explain why he supports the new laws. Valery Zaluzhny is the chief of defense in Ukraine, photographed here during a commemoration of the first anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine on 24 February. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP But in the comments section of the video, there are many who support what soldier Denis said to news at the front in Donbas: “There was almost no responsibility for the commanders, and now it’s completely leveled to the ground. The army of free people turns into an army of slaves. There will be consequences,” writes Oleh Fisenko. Many in the Ukrainian army have been concerned about the new law on stricter penalties for disciplinary violations. Photo: Lokman Ghorbani/news Zelenskyj: The government will continue to work on the case For President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, this has been a difficult case. 25,000 people signed a letter asking him to stop the law, which he did not want to do. But he also emphasized, in his answer to why he will not veto, that all disciplinary measures must take each individual case seriously. He also writes that the government will continue to work on which mechanisms should be used to strengthen military discipline, without specifying this further. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj visited soldiers at the front in Donbas at the beginning of December. Photo: AP The most important thing: Victory for Ukraine In the rural town of Drobisheva, Denis hopes that international pressure can mean that more focus on corruption and incompetence at the top of the Ukrainian defense can change the new disciplinary law. And they can make sure he is heard, to a certain extent. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has fired officers and commanders all the way to the top of the defense recently, but without choosing to listen to the demand to change or remove the new law. Read more about the fight against corruption in Ukraine: – Corruption in war causes people to be killed And Denis and his comrade emphasize to news that the discussion about the law must not overshadow the most important thing: Victory for Ukraine in the war against Russian aggression.
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