Every day since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense publishes its assessment of the situation in the conflict. On August 2, 2023, it is about the Russian troops.
Via Twitter the British Ministry of Defense writes: “In the last two months, Russia has probably started to build up major new formations to reinforce its ground forces. This includes the 25th Combined Army (…). Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has primarily used mobilized reservists to replenish existing formations or as part of territorial defense infantry regiments. It has rarely created new cross-weapon organizations such as combined armies designed as self-sufficient forces.”
Further, the British Ministry of Defense writes: “An exception was the 3rd Army Corps, created in the summer of 2022, which has generally performed poorly. Russia is likely to use any new formation as a reserve force in Ukraine. In the longer term, however, Russia aims to strengthen its forces vis-à-vis NATO.”
The British Ministry of Defense concludes, “Without a major new wave of forced mobilization, Russia is unlikely to find enough new soldiers to field even a new army.”
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-12-16), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)