Heavy battles reduce morale
Desertion is said to cause problems for Ukraine
06/19/2022, 1:08 p.m
Since the beginning of the war there have been repeated reports of Russian soldiers disobeying orders and evading combat. According to the British Ministry of Defence, the morale of Ukrainian troops now seems to be suffering from the attrition battles in Donbass.
According to British intelligence experts, the intensive fighting in the Donbass is affecting the morale of the troops on both sides in the Ukraine war. “Ukrainian forces have probably suffered from desertions in recent weeks, but it is highly probable that Russian morale in particular remains plagued with problems,” the daily said Intelligence update on the Ukraine war by the Ministry of Defense in London.
Since the Russian attack on Ukraine began around four months ago, there have been repeated reports of Russian soldiers deserting. “There continue to be instances of entire Russian units refusing to obey orders, and armed confrontations between officers and soldiers continue,” the statement said.
The reasons for the low Russian morale are, among other things, a leadership that is perceived as poor, limited opportunities for relief from the front, very heavy losses, stress, poor logistics and problems with payment.
Frontline hardly changed
According to the ministry, both sides have continued their heavy artillery shelling on the axes north, east and south of the Sievarodonetsk pocket in the east of the country in the past few days. The front line has hardly changed, they say.
In its situation report on Saturday evening, the Ukrainian general staff announced that Russian troops had gained territory in the bitter battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievjerodonetsk and entered a suburb. “By shelling and storming, the enemy achieved partial success in the village of Metjolkine and tried to establish themselves there.” The village is south-east of Sievjerodonetsk.