The Russian reservists have to fight with spades

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Mobilized Russian fighters are likely to use “shovel-like” tools for hand-to-hand combat. The British Ministry of Defense assumes that. Moscow’s armed forces are running out of ammunition, they say. Instead of using heavy artillery, they should now use spades.

Reports from mobilized Russian reservists indicate that soldiers have received orders to only attack Ukrainian positions with “firearms and shovels”. That is the assessment of the British intelligence service on Sunday about the situation in Ukraine. The diggers are apparently not only used to dig trenches: “The shovels are probably entrenchment tools used in close combat.”

MPL-50 shovels are standard equipment for Russian soldiers. “Little has changed since the spade was designed in 1869,” write the British in their daily war bulletin. “Their continued use as a weapon underscores the ruthless and low-tech combat that characterizes much of the war.” The lethal power of the rudimentary weapon has been “particularly mythologized” in Russia.

Ukraine gets a unique opportunity

The lack of ammunition in the Russian armed forces has been well documented by Russian military bloggers and Western analysts. Even the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin (61), complained loudly about the lack of weapons. Meanwhile, Prigoshin Putin himself has threatened to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

According to the British, one of the reservists described that he was “neither physically nor mentally” prepared for battle at the front. “Recent signs point to an increase in hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine,” it said. “This is probably due to the fact that the Russian command continues to push for offensive actions consisting largely of dismounted infantry and less artillery support due to the Russian ammunition shortage.”

Meanwhile, Putin’s warriors are also at odds, analyzes The Economist. Casualties are high, the wave of mobilization continues, and even individual generals are at odds with each other. The wartime president “is running out of ideas and weapons”. This presents Ukraine with a unique opportunity: “As Russia’s military power approaches its nadir,” it says, “Ukraine must seize an opportunity that may never come again.” (kes)

Source: Blick