Russian Armed Forces may be threatening to shoot their own deserters, according to the latest intelligence from the Ministry of Defence.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been rolling on since February, but Moscow is still far from conquering its European neighbour.
Even amid brutal air strikes and ongoing nuclear threats, Ukraine has successfully reclaimed much of its land in the east. Russia has suffered from intense losses, and so announced partial mobilisation of reservists back in September.
This has not helped unify its forces though, according to the MoD.
In an update shared on Friday morning, the UK intelligence said: “Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying ‘barrier troops’ or ‘blocking units’.”
These units then reportedly “threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers,” supposedly in an effort to “compel offensives”.
According to the MoD these tactics have been used before by Russian forces in conflicts.
“Russian generals likely wanted their commanders to use weapons against deserters, including possibly authorising shooting to kill such defaulters after a warning has been given.”
It’s thought soldiers were also expected to maintain their defensive positions “to the death”.
But, the officials added: “The tactic of shooting deserters likely attests to the low quality, low morale, and indiscipline of Russian forces.”
This is not the first time reports of low morale have emerged from the Russian frontline.
The news of partial mobilisation sparked protests across the country, with more than 1,000 people being detained.
At the time, the MoD warned that these drafted troops would be deployed to the frontline “with minimal relevant preparation”, and there would likely be a “high attrition rate” as a result.
According to Ukraine, Russia also lost 480 troops in just one day at the end of October even before the “heaviest battle” in the southern region of Kherson began.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is also keeping the option of mobilising more of the public open.
The Russian defence ministry claimed last weekend that the “partial mobilisation” was ending, but actually only Putin has the authority to do this.
And, on Monday, the president said he “hadn’t thought about that” yet.
On Thursday, the MoD also claimed that Russian soldiers are likely “frustrated” that they have to serve in old infantry combat vehicles, “which they describe as aluminium cans”, after losing so many armoured vehicles in October.
“Armoured vehicles and artillery are central to Russia’s way of war; the force in Ukraine is now struggling partially due to difficulties in sourcing both artillery ammunition and sufficient serviceable replacement armoured vehicles.”