Russian soldiers are likely to face significant challenges as winter brings a change in conflict conditions, British defence chiefs have warned.
A reduction in daylight hours will result in fewer offensives and more static defensive frontlines, the latest intelligence report from the Ministry of Defence suggests.
As temperatures drop, forces lacking in winter weather clothing and accommodation are highly likely to suffer from non-freezing cold injuries, it adds.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: “Winter will bring a change in conflict conditions for both Russian and Ukrainian forces. Changes to daylight hours, temperature and weather will present unique challenges for fighting soldiers.
“Any decisions that the Russian General Staff make will be in part informed by the onset of winter.
“Daylight will reduce to fewer than 9 hours a day, compared to 15-16 in the height of summer. This results in fewer offensives and more static defensive frontlines.
“Night vision capability is a precious commodity, further exacerbating the unwillingness to fight at night.”
They added: “The average high temperature will drop from 13 degrees Celsius through September to November, to zero through December to February. Forces lacking in winter weather clothing and accommodation are highly likely to suffer from non-freezing cold injuries.
“Additionally, the ‘golden hour’ window in which to save a critically wounded soldier is reduced by approximately half, making the risk of contact with the enemy much greater.
“The weather itself is likely to see an increase in rainfall, wind speed and snowfall. Each of these will provide additional challenges to the already low morale of Russian forces, but also present problems for kit maintenance.
“Basic drills such as weapon cleaning must be adjusted to the conditions and the risk of weapon malfunctions increase.”
It comes after British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned that Russia is “a long way from giving up” in Ukraine and could send further “cannon fodder”.
Mr Wallace welcomed the jubilant scenes in liberated Kherson over the weekend but urged caution.
He said: “History will remind you that Russia can be brutal to their own. If they need more cannon fodder, that is what they’ll be doing.”
His comments came as the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update that Moscow is planning to reprise a Soviet era scheme that sees students given "mandatory military training".
Highlighting the move, Mr Wallace said: “Russia is a long way from giving up. It’s got a meat-grinder type of military doctrine, just shove a few more poor wee souls in and keep churning away.
“That’s hard for anyone to deal with. Because we don’t treat people like that. Nor do the Ukrainians.”
Russia’s exit from Kherson comes six weeks after Putin illegally annexed the region along with Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Cheering locals have been welcoming Ukrainian troops to Kherson - the only regional capital Putin had managed to seize during his invasion.
But conditions there are grim, with the city without power and facing shortages of water, food and medicines.
As the focus turns to fierce fighting in Donetsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russians had destroyed vital infrastructure in Kherson before withdrawing and his men were dismantling mines and booby traps.
