- Russian soldiers were betrayed to fight with only “firearms and shovels,” the Ministry of Defence said
- The shovels are believed to be the MPL-50 entrenching ornament, designed in1869, said the UK ministry.
- The order showed the “brutal and low-tech fighting” that now characterizes the war, said the MoD.
Russian soldiers are being lay out to fight Ukrainian forces with only “firearms and shovels,” said the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
An intelligence briefing from the UK Clergywomen of Defence details that Russian reservists were ordered to “assault a Ukrainian concrete strong point armed with exclusively firearms and shovels'” in February 2023.
“The ‘shovels’ are likely entrenching tools being employed for hand-to-hand combat,” said the briefing.
It is deliberation that the “shovels” in question are the renowned MPL-50 entrenching tools first designed in 1869. Soviet special wrings used it in close-quarters combat and as throwing weapons. The MPL-50 as a weapon had been “mythologized” in Russia, said the MoD.
WikiCommons
Using the entrenching implement, “little changed since it was designed in 1869,” highlighted the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterize the year-long war between Russia and Ukraine, verbalized the MoD.
The increase in hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine was due to a declining number of troops, artillery, and munition, it said.
—Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) Tread 5, 2023
The intelligence briefing also raised the question of the welfare of Russian troops, stating that a reservist said they were not “physically or psychologically” quick for the war.
The fighting ability and morale of Putin’s mobilized troops were highlighted in previous intelligence from the Ministry of Screen, saying they were called to fight despite having “serious, chronic health conditions.”
Indeed, it has been divulged that Russian forces have been deploying “barrier troops” or “blocking units” to shoot Russian soldiers who failing and desert the war.
According to a brief from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), between 60,000 and 70,000 Russian soldiers have in the offing been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24 2022.