Ukraine’s Chief Sergeant: Pre-War Training Saved Us

The sergeants that the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to train before the full-scale invasion played a critical role in helping the Defense Forces endure, halt the enemy, and eliminate a significant number of occupiers during the most difficult months of 2022, while mobilization was still unfolding, reservists were being called up, and new units were being formed.

This opinion was expressed by the Chief Sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kosynskyi, in an interview with Novynarnia, published on Monday, April 28.

“Unfortunately, many of them (the sergeants – ed.) have been lost. Some were killed, some were discharged after being wounded, some were taken prisoner, and others are missing in action. Some even became officers. But under such conditions, it is, in my opinion, impossible to restore even the core of professional sergeants that we had at the beginning of 2022. We are currently in an active phase of combat operations. It is difficult to talk about the development and professionalization of sergeants at this time. Our main focus is on replenishing the losses in the sergeant corps,” said Kosynskyi.

He noted that today, the overwhelming majority of sergeants in Ukrainian military units are “mobilized men and women who came to the military from civilian life.”

“Some of them had previously served when the army still operated under the Soviet model. Most soldiers are now appointed to sergeant positions and receive sergeant ranks without having completed the proper training courses. Unfortunately, these are the current conditions,” said Kosynskyi.

The Chief Sergeant of the Armed Forces also stated that before the full-scale war, Ukraine had managed to lay the foundation for a professional sergeant corps in line with the principles of leading NATO armies.

“We had only laid the foundation, poured the base. I can’t say we had already built a professional sergeant corps. We worked hard to create a core of professional sergeants. We started the processes of selection, systematic and planned training through short-term but multi-level courses in various fields. And to some extent, by 2022, we were succeeding. Before the full-scale invasion, all sergeants were contract service members — individuals who had chosen military service as their main profession. Most of them step-by-step gained the necessary levels of professional competence, military service experience, and combat experience (from the War in Donbas), and developed themselves as military specialists.”

At the same time, Kosynskyi noted that the constant outflow of trained personnel seriously hampered this process. Many well-trained and experienced sergeants left military service or transitioned to officer positions.

“Why? One of the main reasons was the low level of monetary compensation. Unfortunately, we were unable to create an effective system of financial support for them or introduce a new system for military career management,” he said.

According to him, before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had also managed to carry out a reform of the rank structure for enlisted and sergeant personnel.

“That is, not just approve new military ranks but also implement them and conduct re-certification. It was one of the most difficult tasks we faced. We spent five years on this reform. The final re-certification measures were completed in January 2022. I still can’t believe we managed to do it… Although not everything went as planned. In many areas, we faced legislative hurdles, restrictions, and bureaucracy. This reform was supposed to lead to further changes because the change in ranks itself was never the ultimate goal.”

The sergeant corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine currently includes more than 200,000 service members who are serving in sergeant positions and holding sergeant ranks.