Since the start of the war, the British Ministry of Defense has been providing daily reports on the situation in Ukraine.
On Sunday pays attention man that newly drafted Russian soldiers are deployed at the front armed only with firearms and spades, as a consequence of which the Russian side is also believed to be suffering from a great shortage of artillery ammunition.
It concerns the MPL-50 spade, which was first manufactured in 1869 and is described as having a legendary position in the Russian army because it is also capable as a weapon in close combat.
The fact that Russian reservists are being equipped with spades lends further weight to claims that much of the war in Ukraine is taking place in trenches and close combat in conditions reminiscent of the First World War.
According to the British Ministry of Defence, there have been complaints from the Russian side that many Russian reservists are not prepared “either physically or psychologically”.
The battles around Bachmut continue to rage and information claims that the Ukrainian side is finding it increasingly difficult to resist the Russian side’s intense and hugely loss-making offensives.