Russia has likely suffered "devastating losses" among its mid- and junior-ranking officers during the conflict in Ukraine, says the U.K.'s Defense Ministry.
"Brigade and battalion commanders likely deploy forwards into harm's way because they are held to an uncompromising level of responsibility for their units' performance. Similarly, junior officers have had to lead to the lowest level tactical actions, as the army lacks the cadre of highly trained and empowered noncommissioned officers (NCOs) who fulfill that role in Western forces," the ministry wrote in an intelligence update posted to Twitter.
The loss, it continues, "will likely exacerbate its ongoing problems in modernizing its approach to command and control."
The lack of "experienced and credible" personnel, it added, will likely lead to a decrease in morale and continued poor discipline.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is nearing its 100th day.
So far, Ukraine has held strong. Russia has lost one-third of its forces, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry, and failed to capture the city of Kyiv easily as Moscow expected.
"Russia's Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule," the U.K. Defense Ministry said on May 15. "Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high levels of attrition."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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