Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg says he wouldn't volunteer again, voicing a rare but spreading pessimism

• A Ukrainian described losing his leg to a land mine while speaking with The Washington Post.
• Ruslan Proektor, 52, said he regretted going to war and that soldiers like him were poorly prepared.

A Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg in battle told The Washington Post that he wouldn't volunteer to fight for his country again — expressing a rare but growing pessimism around the war.

Ruslan Proektor, 52, told the outlet in a report published Thursday that he lost his leg this summer after stepping on a Russian mine. The soldier who rescued Proektor also stepped on a mine, causing additional injuries, he said.

Proektor, now recovering in Kyiv, said that if he were given the choice to join the military now, he would not sign up.

"They are taking everyone and sending them to the front line without proper preparation," he told the Post. "I don't want to be in the company of unmotivated people."

It is unclear which brigade Proektor fought in or whether he had military experience before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

Ukraine is deep into its much-anticipated counteroffensive, which is meant to regain territory in the east and south of the country.

Many of the units being sent into battle in these areas are drawn from brigades that have been hastily trained and equipped in NATO countries over the past few months. These troops are suffering heavier losses compared with more-experienced but worse-equipped units, The Guardian reported.

Michael Kofman, a well-known military analyst, told The Guardian that the lack of training probably was pivotal.

"I think it is very fair to have been skeptical that, with so little training, you could create cohesive units that can perform in combat for the first time against such well-prepared defenses," he said.

Some Western-trained brigades have even started to abandon US-taught tactics because they have proved ineffective, The New York Times reported earlier this month.

Instead of attacking Russian positions head-on using complicated Western-military maneuvers, many Ukrainian service members have resorted to artillery and missile barrages, the Times said.

Proektor was not alone in feeling bleak about the war, which shows little sign of resolution after more than a year and a half.

Other people who spoke with The Washington Post also deviated from the prevailing Ukrainian sentiment of unity and defiance, citing the disappointing counteroffensive as a cause of their fading hopes.