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STORY: Oleksandr Taran's mobile artillery unit isn't officially part of Ukraine's military, but that hasn't stopped his men from destroying Russian targets."(We) get by thanks to the pension fund," says the 68-year-old commander, whose call sign is "Grandpa."The all-volunteer unit, called the Steppe Wolves, is comprised of dozens of Ukrainian men mostly over 60 years old who are considered too old to be drafted but still want to fight for their country.The unit also includes younger men who have been ruled unfit to fight.Roving behind enemy lines with truck-mounted rocket launchers, they take orders from field commanders and work with other troops, despite lacking official support from the military. The unit is funded by donations and is stocked with faulty rounds they repair themselves as well as weapons captured from the enemy. So far, efforts to officially integrate into the military have been unsuccessful, Taran said. During a recent visit by Reuters to their base in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, they were seen preparing rocket rounds later fired by troops from another unit.This 63-year-old volunteer fighter goes by the call sign 'Zorro.'“The commanders that provide us with targets are happy. They give us more targets (and) help us with ammunition however they can. We move out and help them.”Ukraine's mobilization effort is struggling amid flagging enthusiasm more than two years into Russia's full-scale invasion. With Russian troops making progress in the east, analysts say Ukraine's shortage of manpower needs to be addressed.Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy approved new measures allowing the military to call up more troops and strengthen penalties for evasion. He also reduced the mobilization age from 27 to 25.Taran, who has been fighting since 2014, said coercion would be unlikely to beat genuine enthusiasm from a potential recruit."Beat him with a stick if you want, but he won't fight," he says.
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