Every day since the escalation of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine in February 2022, the UK Ministry of Defense publishes its assessment of the situation. On August 30, 2023, the issue is low morale in the Russian army.
Via the Network X writes the UK Ministry of Defense: “On August 25, 2023, two Russian soldiers were sentenced by a military court to at least two years in a penal colony for refusing to obey orders to return to the front lines in Ukraine. On July 18, 2023, the Mediazona news portal reported that nearly 100 soldiers are sentenced for refusing to fight every week in Russia. If this trend continues, there will be about 5,200 convictions for refusing to fight per year.”
The UK Ministry of Defense gives one possible reason: “The high number of convictions shows how low morale is in the Russian army and that some soldiers do not want to fight. The refusal to fight probably reflects the lack of training and motivation, as well as the high stresses faced by Russian forces all along the Ukrainian front line.”
At the same time, the UK Ministry of Defense states, “Although some soldiers have refused to fight and attrition rates remain high, Russia is most likely mitigating their losses by sending a mass of poorly trained soldiers to the front lines. Since Russia’s partial mobilization in September 2022, Russia has adjusted its concept of warfare by using sheer mass for offensive and defensive operations.”
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-12-16), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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