The Russian Federation is forced to recruit prisoners and accelerate the training of cadets, as it has two acute deficiencies for staffing its combat units in Ukraine.
This is stated in the intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense on Friday.
The report notes that the Kremlin-linked Russian private military company Wagner has been campaigning to recruit Russian prisoners to serve in Ukraine since at least July. Prisoners are offered a reduced sentence and monetary incentives. A recently published video, most likely, shows how the owner of "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin makes an offer to recruit prisoners. In the video, Prigozhin notes that he is only looking for "fighters for assault units."
Separately, Russian military academies are shortening courses and postponing the graduation dates of cadets. Probably, this is happening so that the cadets can be sent to support the operation in Ukraine.
"The problem of Russian manpower is becoming increasingly acute. The acceleration of cadet training and the need for "Wagner" in assault units suggest that two of the most acute "deficiencies" during the crisis of staffing of the armed forces are probably related to combat infantry and junior commanders," the message reads. in review
The day before, the British ministry said that Russian forces had largely been withdrawn from the area west of the Oskol River in the Kharkiv region, and many units had retreated, leaving behind valuable equipment.
