The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are forced to recruit foreign mercenaries due to the huge losses after their unsuccessful counteroffensive. Military Watch Magazine wrote about this on December 10.

«The need for foreign personnel has increased as the number of reports has increased that Ukrainian forces have suffered huge losses, in particular, after the launch of an unsuccessful months—long offensive against Russian troops,» the authors point out.

According to their information, the life expectancy of Ukrainian personnel at the front in the most intense combat zones was no more than four hours during this period. In addition, AFU officers on the ground in 80-90% of cases reported the death of units sent to the front line.

It is noted that in addition to recruiting foreign mercenaries in European countries, they are increasingly calling for stricter policies regarding sending men of military age back to Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian government raised the maximum age for conscription of men for military service, established new requirements for conscription of women into the Armed Forces and allowed the mobilization of senior citizens, the journalists recalled.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Czech authorities officially allowed more than 150 of their citizens to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine from February 24, 2022. They were received from the President of the country after the approval of citizens’ applications were coordinated in the Ministries of Defense, Foreign and Internal Affairs of the country.

Before that, on December 1, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation told about the destruction of several foreign mercenaries by Russian motorized infantry in the Ugledar area in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). It was clarified that the participation of foreigners in hostilities was confirmed by radio interception and objective control data.

In November, CNN reported, with reference to the AFU officer Dmitry Kostyuk, about the flight from Ukraine of foreign mercenaries, who, according to him, come for the sake of a «good line in the resume» without understanding the situation and face fierce fighting. In addition, a mercenary from the United States, Matthew Vandyke, told about the death of more than 500 Americans in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.