Russian generals are likely resorting to using cash bonuses for troops as they struggle to motivate soldiers in the Donbas region of Ukraine, according to British defence chiefs.
Russian forces pressed on with their offensive across several Ukrainian regions on Monday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the potential for more serious attacks ahead of Ukraine’s 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule.
Russia is facing an increasingly acute shortage of stocks, even of basic munition, as well as manpower issues as it struggles to reconstitute its forces, a Western official said.
The Ministry of Defence tweeted on Monday: “Russia is likely increasingly struggling to motivate the auxiliary forces it is using to augment its regular troops in the Donbas. Commanders are probably resorting to direct financial incentives, while some combat units are deemed unreliable for offensive operations.
“A consistent contributing factor to these problems is Russia’s classification of the war as a ‘special military operation’ which limits the state’s powers of legal coercion.”
Over the weekend artillery shells rained down on Nikopol, a city near Zaporizhzhia - Europe’s biggest nuclear plant, while missiles struck near the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Mr Zelensky has called for vigilance, saying Moscow could try “something particularly ugly” ahead of Wednesday, which marks Ukraine’s Independence Day and also half a year since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Mr Zelensky said he had discussed “all the threats” with French President Emmanuel Macron.
It came as explosions deep behind Russia’s lines in Crimea have had a major psychological effect on Moscow’s leadership.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 22 August 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 22, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/yI2OUa5eEe
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gckTwVSILW
More than half of the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet combat jets were put out of action in blasts last week at the Russian-operated Saky military airfield in western Crimea – an area Moscow previously considered secure, officials said on Friday.
The Kremlin is busy seeking to allocate blame for the debacle and President Vladimir Putin is struggling to hide Ukraine’s success from the Russian population, as thousands of Russians fleeing Crimea have streamed into the country, they said.
