Russian soldiers are too drunk to fight in Ukraine.
Russian soldiers are too drunk to fight in the Ukraine war
An extraordinary assessment by British intelligence has revealed that Vladimir Putin's army is full of boozed-up troops who are unable to fight effectively.
The Russian army has been struggling in Ukraine and Ministry of Defence officials are convinced that "alcohol abuse" is linked to the military's poor performance.
The intelligence has cited reports of an "extremely high" number of incidents, crimes and deaths linked to drunkenness amongst Putin's soldiers.
There have been reports of drunken brawls as demoralised and terrified Russian soldiers guzzle vodka and it has also been claimed that some drunken troops have mistakenly blown themselves up with grenades.
The MoD said: "Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.
"However, with heavy drinking pervasive across much of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even on combat operations."
The assessment is another damning verdict on the Russian military as troops are already said to be under-equipped and undertrained, with soldiers being sent into battle armed with little more than shovels in some cases.
Putin has failed to make the progress he expected in the Ukraine conflict and seemingly has his future as Russian president tied to the success or failure of the war.