war in Ukraine
According to British intelligence services, Russia’s units are in a miserable condition
A destroyed Russian T-72 tank in the village of Bohorodychne in eastern Ukraine in late December
© Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP
The Russian army was in much worse shape than expected from the start of its invasion of Ukraine. But in the meantime it has apparently lost a lot of its operational capability.
According to British military experts, the Russian invading forces in Ukraine are in a miserable state and not well prepared for challenges. This emerges from the daily intelligence report on the war in Ukraine, which the Ministry of Defense in London published on Sunday. Accordingly, although the number of soldiers and the organizational structure is similar to that at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, the composition differs significantly.
Kremlin troops in Ukraine ‘significantly undermanned’
In February 2022, the Russian troops consisted of professional soldiers, were mostly equipped with reasonably modern vehicles, and trained regularly with the aim of carrying out complex missions in a group, according to sources in London. “Now the force consists mostly of poorly trained reservists and is increasingly reliant on outdated equipment, many seriously undermanned units.”
Only very basic infantry-based sorties would be routinely conducted. First of all, it is unlikely that the Russian armed forces in Ukraine managed to build a mobile reserve to respond to challenges on a 1,200-kilometer front, the British concluded.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense in London has been publishing daily information on the course of the war, citing intelligence information. These cannot be checked independently. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.