MoD claims many Russian deaths in Ukraine war are linked to alcohol

‘Extremely high’ number of the ‘200,000’ Russian troop deaths in Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse, MoD says

• Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties since its invasion of Ukraine
• The Ministry of Defence claims a ‘minority’ are due to non-combat causes
• A high number of deaths are linked to Russian soldier’s alcohol consumption

The UK Ministry of Defence said an ‘extremely high’ number of Russian troop deaths as a part of the Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse.

Russian military forces are injuring themselves as a result of poor handling of weapons and heavy drinking, according to the ministry’s morning intelligence update.

Although Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago, the briefing said ‘a significant minority of these have been due to non-combat causes’.

A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there have been ‘extremely high’ numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption amongst the deployed Russian troops. 

Other likely causes of non-combat casualties included poor weapon handling drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia

 The UK Ministry of Defence said an ‘extremely high’ number of Russian troop deaths as a part of the Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse. Pictured: Russian servicemen patrolling in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022

However, the MoD said that Russian commanders presumably identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.

They added: ‘However, with heavy drinking pervasive across much of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even on combat operations.’

This follows recent reports that Vladimir Putin’s commanders are forcing his conscript soldiers at gunpoint to remain at the frontline using a brutal Stalin tactic.

Soldiers appealed to Putin hoping he will be shocked by their revelations – yet all the evidence is he approves of these ‘meat-grinder’ tactics. 

In a new video where Russian reservist draftees appealed directly to Vladimir Putin, the men said they are given a choice – stay in the frontline and have a slim chance of survival, or retreat and face a bullet in the head – from fellow Russians in Putin’s ‘retreat-blocking detachments’.

They said: ‘Retreat-blocking detachments were set up against us and they did not let us out of positions.’

The soldiers spoke of how the Russian state media, controlled by Putin, is lying over supposed successes in the war.

‘We are in danger,’ the men say in footage from close to the frontline.

A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there have been ‘extremely high’ numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption. Pictured: A Russian soldier guarding an area in the Kherson region on May 20, 2022

According to the figures released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last month, the number of Russian losses in Vladimir Putin’s invasion has surpassed 150,000.

This means the total number of Russian deaths in Ukraine is likely to have exceeded all fatalities in 16 of the nation’s military actions since the Second World War.

In early January, Russian Chief of the General Staff (CGS) General Valery Gerasimov took personal command of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.

While his reign was charactertised by the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region, over a month later it has become apparent that this project has failed.

On several axes across the Donbas front, Russian forces have made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties, largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel gained from the autumn’s ‘partial mobilisation’, according to recent reports from the MoD.

Source: Read Full Article