Although Russia lacks ammunition for artillery in the war in Ukraine, the military leadership continues to push for offensive action, according to information from British intelligence. This leads to more and more attacks by infantrymen armed only with small arms and shovels. According to the government in Kiev, the Russian army suffered huge losses as a result of its “meat-grinder tactics” at Bakhmut.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the number of attacks in Ukraine, which are hardly supported by artillery fire and are therefore turning into hand-to-hand combat, are increasing. Most recently, in late February, Russian mobilized reservists reported being ordered to attack a concrete-fortified Ukrainian base using only small arms and shovels, the London ministry said in its daily update on Twitter. A reservist would say he was “neither physically nor mentally” prepared for the assignment.
More melee combat
The shovels, otherwise used to dig trenches, are designed so that they can also be used as a melee weapon. Their lethality is “particularly mythized” in Russia. Since the development of the ramp tool in 1869, it has hardly changed. The fact that the shovel is still used as a weapon underscores “the ruthless and poorly technologically enhanced combat that characterizes much of the war,” the Defense Department said.
Left injured for hours
The @wartranslated Twitter account, which translates and posts videos of Russian soldiers into English, shared another example of the plight of mobilized reservists on Sunday. In the clip, a Russian unit appeals to President Putin to stop ordering “pointless” attacks. In a recent attack without artillery support, some of the wounded lay untreated on the battlefield for six hours before being captured by Ukrainians.
According to information from Kiev, the Russian army suffered particularly heavy losses in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. “Russian losses reach 500 dead and wounded a day,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov told Bild am Sonntag. The Russian soldiers are merely “cannon fodder” in the “meat grinder tactics” used by Moscow. The information about the damage figures cannot be independently verified.
Extremely high losses among recruited convicts
However, the city has been heavily fought over for months. The Wagner mercenary unit is mainly active in the chamber. Their boss, the oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is considered close to the Kremlin, has recruited men into the troops in Russian prisons in the past. It is precisely among these prisoners that the number of victims is said to be extremely high, according to reports. The human rights organization “Russia Behind Bars” recently said that of the 50,000 mercenaries recruited from prisons, only 10,000 remain at the front. The rest were killed, wounded, captured or deserted.
According to Reznikov, Bakhmut is “a symbolic place for the Russians”, which is why the efforts to capture the city are so important. Even the capture of these does nothing for the further course of the fighting in Donbass, he told the newspaper.
“Bakhmut Fortress”
However, in the past, leadership in Kiev also gave Bakhmut a high symbolic importance. Among other things, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the “Fortress Bakhmut”, which will not be abandoned. Today the tones are more moderate. The city’s case is now considered a possibility. However, Ukraine wants to hold on to the positions as long as possible, also because the Russian troops lose a lot of time and energy to attack them.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
