In an interview with Online.UA, Deputy Commander of the Third Assault Brigade, ex-commander of the "Azov" regiment, Major Maksym Zhorin told how Ukrainians were affected by the adoption of the law on mobilization and what exactly motivates Ukrainian women to defend their homeland on the battlefield.
Points of attention
- The recruiting process in Ukraine accelerated after the adoption of the law on mobilization.
- According to Zhorin, the Third Assault Brigade is always first of all looking for motivated fighters who know why they are going to the front.
- More and more women are ready to defend the independence of Ukraine with weapons in their hands.
What are the realities of recruiting in 2024
According to Maksym Zhorin, after the adoption of the law on mobilization, the situation in Ukraine really changed.
People suddenly realized that they had two options: either to choose where to serve themselves, or to let someone else make this choice at random.
For several days, we had queues here, almost like in the TPC.... Indeed, many people came. Then there was a slight decline, but now the recruiting is still going well. We are now replenished almost entirely at the expense of contractors. For some time now, we have not taken mobilized people at all. Ex-prisoners still began to be taken. By the way, they have already been trained and are in units. In general, 20-30 people come to us every day. Of course, about 30% reach the unit, but this process is constant.
Maxim Zhorin
Deputy Commander of the Third Assault Brigade
As Zhorin notes, it is about 30% primarily because a lot of people get "lost" while collecting all the necessary documents or going through other organizational procedures.
We still call them, we tried to make a modern service. They will remind you, they will help you. If you don't know where to go, they will tell you and tell you who to contact. We help people completely.
Female recruits have completely different motivations
Zhorin also noticed that more and more Ukrainian women are ready to join the ranks of the Armed Forces.
The most interesting point is that they are not afraid of hard work, they are ready to be anyone: stormtroopers, medics, drivers.
In general, anyone, simply: "pick me up." There are a lot of girls. On YFC even if you look, there will be a girl in every course now. Each group has at least one girl who passes. There are those who come a second time if they did not pass the first time, and come a third time if they did not pass.
Maxim Zhorin
Deputy Commander of the Third Assault Brigade
As for the motivation of Ukrainian women in the war, as the deputy commander of the Third Assault Brigade points out, it is different for everyone: someone is at the front for revenge, someone for the sake of protecting the country or establishing justice.
