DM Monitoring
KYIV: A year after the founding commander of Ukraine’s Da Vinci Wolves Battalion was killed fighting Russian forces, his portrait adorns an airy new recruitment office in Kyiv casting a watchful eye over would-be members.
With its military ranks wearing thin, Ukraine is struggling to overhaul mobilisation and broaden recruitment as the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches.
For the Da Vinci Wolves, led by war hero Dmytro “Da Vinci” Kotsiubailo until his death near the eastern town of Bakhmut last March, it means relying on a well-honed public image to attract new recruits.
“We’re looking particularly for people who want to fight, want to join our unit (and) understand what they’re headed for,” said the unit’s new commander, Serhii Filimonov, while unveiling the office recently. They also want to show draft-eligible Ukrainians that it is possible to choose where and with whom they serve, part of a broader official effort to improve military enlistment.
Ukraine failed to make significant gains in a counteroffensive launched last June and faces Russian assaults along much of the front line.
Its mobilisation drive has been complicated by corruption allegations and frequent media reports of heavy-handed draft officers barging into homes or pulling men off buses.
Parliament is considering a bill that would lower the draft age to 25 from 27 and toughen punishment for evasion. The defence ministry has also turned to private recruiters for help.
The Da Vinci Wolves, a volunteer force that has fought across much of the front, is running its own recruitment as it reforms under the 59th Motorized Brigade and hopes to attract new members through its reputation as an experienced and motivated fighting unit.
