According to estimates by British secret services, after the Russian partial mobilization, a large number of conscripted reservists fell in the Ukraine war.
Many of those conscripted would be sent on dangerous missions despite chronic health conditions, the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily briefing. There is constant confusion about their respective military experience, training and equipment.
Critics complain that the Kremlin is using poorly trained men as cannon fodder in a hopeless war. In addition, reports of completely inadequately equipped recruits have accumulated in recent weeks.
Partial mobilization was an unpopular measure
In the face of military defeats, around 300,000 reservists have been called up for the fighting in Ukraine on Putin's orders since the end of September. The partial mobilization proved to be an extremely unpopular measure and triggered a mass exodus in Russia and the largest anti-war protests in months. The demonstrations were often organized by women.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin met the mothers of killed soldiers more than nine months after he ordered the war of aggression against Ukraine. Russian state media released a short video showing Putin receiving and handing coffee cups to more than a dozen selected women at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region.
"I want you to know that we share this pain with you and that we will of course do everything we can to ensure that you do not feel forgotten," Putin said at the meeting, addressed to the families of the dead, according to the Interfax agency. "We do everything we can to ensure that you feel a shoulder at your side." According to official information, a total of 17 women traveled from various Russian regions and from areas of eastern Ukraine illegally annexed by Moscow. From Putin's speech it emerged that among them were mothers of men who are currently fighting in the neighboring country.
Reservists fell mainly around Bachmut
Among other things, in the Donetsk region, around the city of Bakhmut, mobilized reservists had probably fallen in large numbers, the British said. The same applies to soldiers who had to dig trench systems in the Luhansk region while under heavy artillery fire. The Kremlin must be concerned that an increasing number of families of reservists are prepared to protest against the conditions in which their relatives are serving and, if necessary, to be arrested.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.
