Although Ukraine will receive
$61 billion in aid from the US over the coming months, the country has continuously struggled to increase and maintain its manpower on the front lines — a critical capability the aid package
doesn't fix.
"Ammunition may come in two weeks, but manpower won't," Kofman said. Ukraine has long struggled with manpower issues, but the situation has worsened.
Earlier this year, a Ukrainian service member told The Washington Post that the companies in his battalion were staffed at
35% of normal levels.
Ukrainian military officials have sought as many as 500,000 more soldiers to fight. More recently, new mobilization laws are going into effect, and Ukrainian lawmakers took steps last month
to advance a bill that would allow certain individuals in prison to serve in the country's military.