To win, a country has to be able to generate force — figuring out how best to use men, training and weapons. Ukraine has those building blocks in place, he said.
“You have to have weapons; you have to have people, you have to train them altogether. The equipment depends largely on us, and I think that proceeds well,” the general said, referring to the $61 billion U.S. military aid package approved in April after months of delay; Ukrainian forces are now seeing increased deliveries of arms and ammunition.
Ukraine is responsible for manpower, and the situation there is improving after the parliament adopted a mobilization law in April. The new legislation obliged Ukrainian men of 25-60 years of age to register with conscription offices in Ukraine and abroad.
“Ukraine has challenges in how it uses its manpower. There’s a pool of people, who need to work in factories, fields, and in military fighting. It is the job of the Ukrainian government to figure out what that balance is. They’ve recently extended the age of conscription, they’re bringing people in at a pretty good clip right now,” Cavoli said.
The government is even recruiting convicts, although those serving sentences for sexual offenses, murdering two or more people or crimes against Ukraine’s national security aren’t eligible.
More than 4 million Ukrainians are now registered as being potentially willing to serve, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in an online speech at Aspen on Thursday.