Young Ukrainians who signed short-term «youth» contracts with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are increasingly being deployed to the most dangerous sectors of the front line. With infantry units in short supply, commanders are sending these recruits straight into areas of active Russian offensives, a practice that has resulted in heavy losses, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports that since last year hundreds of Ukrainians aged 18 to 24 have joined under a special youth recruitment program. As manpower shortages worsened, many of them were assigned to the heart of Russia’s advance rather than rear or support roles.

The WSJ backs this up with specific cases. One participant in the program, Kirill Gorbenko, who had earlier spoken to the paper about his decision to enlist, was deployed to one of the most intense combat zones. He was killed in October when his unit moved toward the area of Pokrovsk. Another early volunteer under the same youth contract, Vyacheslav Malets, also lost his life near Pokrovsk.

According to the article’s authors, fatalities are only part of the picture. Some of these young recruits suffered severe wounds that left them permanently disabled, while others abandoned their units altogether, unable to cope with the realities of frontline combat.