- Ukraine is facing severe manpower shortages as it continues to fight Russian aggression.
- However, Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade is one of the most popular units in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
- The company attracts new recruits with its PR savvy approach and 12-strong media team.
The Ukrainian military has been facing severe manpower shortages for several months.
In April, a brigade commander told Ukrainian news outlet Suspirnyi that the country's manpower problem was “much more important than ammunition” and that each Ukrainian soldier must do the work of three or four soldiers.
Since December, Ukrainian military officers have recruited as many as 500,000 additional troops.
Since then, lawmakers have taken steps to try to address that need.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill lowering the minimum age for military service from 27 to 25.
And in May, Ukrainian lawmakers invoice Allowing certain categories of prisoners to serve in the military.
People recognize the need to fight, but “they are less motivated because the mobilization system is not very well organized and is not perceived as fair,” Julia Kazdvina, a senior researcher at Prism Ukraine's security studies program and a former adviser to Ukraine's minister of information policy, told Business Insider.
3rd Independent Assault Brigade
But one area where Ukraine has no trouble attracting recruits is the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, an elite fighting unit that has taken part in many of the war's fiercest battles, from Bakhmut to Avdiivka.
The unit grew out of the Azov Brigade, a controversial regiment founded in 2014 by right-wing politician Andriy Biletsky and which played a key role in the 2022 Russian siege of Mariupol.
Since then, the 3rd Brigade has become known for its tough and fearless approach to combat.
But that's just one reason why the force welcomes more than 900 volunteers each month, according to an April report from the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), a Washington, DC-based think tank.
While many brigades use social media platforms to promote and celebrate battlefield victories, 3rd Brigade is particularly adept at PR.
The unit has 12 full-time media staff, including publicists, photographers and editors, who are “pioneers of the public recruitment campaign,” Kazdvina said.
“The brigade is manned by men with extensive combat experience and a reputation for bravery,” she added.
Thirdly, Professional Website They also have a YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers, and some of their videos have been viewed over 9 million times.
Last week, the brigade released a video that appeared to show Russian soldiers emerging from trenches with their hands up and tied behind their backs. The prisoners were later filmed sitting in what appeared to be a school classroom and interviewed.
All of this is designed to appeal to young, motivated potential recruits.
training
Elina Beketova, a defense researcher at CEPA, told BI that the brigade is successful in recruiting “because we have a system.”
“They first do intensive training to prepare the volunteers physically and mentally for frontline duty,” she said. “They then match the volunteers with different roles and if they're not combat ready, they continue their training and find the role that best suits them.”
The brigade has four recruitment centers: in Kiev, Dnipro, Lviv and Odessa.
The unit offers a seven-day training course for potential recruits who want to assess their readiness to join the military, according to its website.
“If you find that the military is not for you, you can drop out and quit at any time,” it says.
Those who wish to participate will undergo a 30-day training program, and if at the end of this program they feel they are not yet ready, they can extend their training period.
Brigade Sergeant Yuri Kovtun said: Said Radio ROKS, last year: “If he is weak, then our task is to make the weakest the strongest.”
“We're not going to send him somewhere to die,” he added.
The third helps new hires with specific skills find the role that best suits their abilities.
“The 3rd Brigade customizes mobilizations and draws up individual contracts. If someone is not ready for artillery duties but is ready for other tasks, the brigade tries to find another position for that person,” Beketova said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense points out this advantage.
In March, the Ministry of Defense announced it would introduce a new recruiting algorithm for the military.
The algorithm “provides a clear mechanism for volunteering through recruitment centers or online,” Beketova said. “Applicants are interviewed and tested before being assigned to the unit of their choice.”
The brigade also provides “support services” to care for wounded combatants and prisoners of war.
“It is often said that Ukraine has two armies,” Kazdvina told BI.
“There are two types of forces: those that follow the Soviet tradition of inefficiency and humiliation, and those that are dynamic, well-organized and respectful of the lives of their soldiers,” she said. “The 3rd Assault Brigade falls into the latter category.”
The 3rd Brigade did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
