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Vladimir Putin sending newly-mobilised troops to their slaughter in Ukraine, says UK

Vladimir Putin sending newly-mobilised troops to their slaughter in Ukraine, says UK

Vladimir Putin is sending newly-mobilised troops to their slaughter in Ukraine with little training before they are deployed, British defence chiefs said on Monday.

They warned these troops were likely to suffer a “high attrition rate” after being despatched to fight in Ukraine with “minimal relevant preparation”.

They stressed that the Russian army faced “administrative and logistical challenges” in dealing with the new soldiers who had been called up as part of the partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists.

One key problem was that many army trainers were already deployed in Ukraine.

In its latest intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence in London said: “The initial tranches of men called up under Russia’s partial mobilisation have started arriving at military bases. Many tens of thousands of call-up papers have already been issued.

“Russia will now face an administrative and logistical challenge to provide training for the troops.”

The briefing added: “Unlike most Western armies, the Russian military provides low-level, initial training to soldiers within their designated operational units, rather than in dedicated training establishments.

“Typically, one battalion within each Russian brigade will remain in garrison if the other two deploy and can provide a cadre of instructors to train new recruits or augmentees. However, Russia has deployed many of these third battalions to Ukraine.

“Many of the drafted troops will not have had any military experience for some years.

“The lack of military trainers, and the haste with which Russia has started the mobilisation, suggests that many of the drafted troops will deploy to the front line with minimal relevant preparation. They are likely to suffer a high attrition rate.”