Russia appears to have suffered devastating losses among mid- and junior-ranking officers during its conflict with Ukraine, raising the prospect of diminished military effectiveness in the future, according to Britain’s defence ministry on Monday.
Brigade and battalion commanders were most likely deployed to the most dangerous positions, while junior officers were forced to lead low-level tactical actions, according to the ministry’s latest Defence Intelligence update posted on Twitter.
‘With multiple credible reports of localised mutinies among Russia’s forces in Ukraine,’ it said, ‘a lack of experienced and credible platoon and company commanders is likely to result (in) a further decrease in morale and continued poor discipline.’
According to the ministry, the loss of younger officers is likely to exacerbate Russia’s problems with military command and control modernization.
‘More immediately,’ it said, ‘battalion tactical groups reconstituted in Ukraine from survivors of multiple units are likely to be less effective due to a lack of junior leaders.’
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