Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyy has signed an order mandating the rotation of troops carrying out missions on the front line. He announced this on Facebook.
Commanders must ensure that service members remain in positions for up to two months, followed by mandatory rotation, which must be carried out no later than within one month. Rotations must be planned in advance, taking into account the situation on the frontline, the nature of the fighting, and the forces and resources available.
The order also set out mandatory requirements:
- medical examinations and time for rest for service members who have completed combat missions;
- timely provision (replenishment of stocks) of ammunition and food for service members carrying out combat (special) missions in positions.
"Compliance with the order’s requirements will be under strict control. Violations will entail inevitable accountability in accordance with current legislation and the statutes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Timely rotation is not only a matter of organising service; it is a matter of preserving the lives of our soldiers and the resilience of the defence. The order is mandatory for all units carrying out combat missions on the front line," the commander-in-chief said.
Context
The decision on mandatory rotations was made amid public attention to the situation in the 14th Brigade, where at some positions near Kupiansk troops were left without sufficient supplies of food and water.
A lack of rotations from certain positions has also occurred in other units. Some defenders have remained in positions for up to a year or more.