Ukraine: Russian reservists 'likely purchasing their own armour' as prices soar online, UK says
Russian reservists are "likely required to purchase their own body armour" as prices for armoured vests soar online, according to the latest intelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The defence intelligence update states that "endemic corruption and poor logistics" remain one of the main causes for "Russia's poor performance" in Ukraine.
The 6B45 vest, which is meant to be on general issue to combat units as of the Ratnik personal equipment programme, has been selling on Russian sites for 40,000 roubles (approximately $640 or £570), up from around 12,000 roubles (approximately $190 or £170) in April.
"Contingents of mobilised Russian reservists have been deployed to Ukraine over the last two weeks," the intelligence update states.
"Their average level of personal equipment is almost certainly lower than the already poor provision of previously deployed troops."
It comes as the US vowed to send Ukraine a new $725 million package of weapons and other military assistance, adding to a flurry of aid announcements from European allies this week.
It follows the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace's announcement that the UK will send anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to help protect their skies. Britain will also give £10 million to the military alliance’s funding package to help provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine including winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks and ambulances.
Regions of southern Ukraine illegally annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin saw more heavy fighting on Saturday as Ukrainian soldiers pressed a ground campaign to recapture one, and Russian forces exploded long-range missiles and Iranian-made drones in another.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said the Russian military carried out strikes with kamikaze drones from Iran and long-range S-300 missiles.
Dmytro Pocishchuk, a hospital medic in the Zaporizhzhia region's capital who has treated dozens of people wounded during Russian attacks in recent weeks, said people sought safety outdoors or in his building's basement when the familiar blasts started at 5:15am on Saturday. “If Ukraine stops, these bombings and killings will continue. We can’t give up to the Russian Federation,’" Pocishchuk said several hours later.
The neighboring Kherson region, one of the first areas of Ukraine to fall to Russia after the invasion and which Putin also illegally designated as Russian territory last month, remained the focus of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
A missile strike also seriously damaged a key energy facility in Ukraine's capital region, the country's grid operator said.
Kyiv region Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the missile that hit a power site on Saturday morning didn't kill or wound anyone.
Citing security, Ukrainian officials didn't identify the site, one of many infrastructure targets the Russian military tried to destroy after an October 8 truck bomb explosion damaged the bridge that links Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ukrainian electricity transmission company Ukrenergo said repair crews were working to restore electricity service, but warned residents about further possible outages.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, urged residents of the capital and three neighboring regions to conserve energy.
“Putin may hope that by increasing the misery of the Ukrainian people, President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy may be more inclined to negotiate a settlement that allows Russia to retain some stolen territory in the east or Crimea,” said Ian Williams, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy organisation based in Washington.
“A quick look at history shows that the strategic bombing of civilians is an ineffective way to achieve a political aim. ”
This week's wide-ranging retaliatory attacks, which included the use of self-destructing explosive drones from Iran, killed dozens of people.
The strikes hit residential buildings as well as infrastructure such as power stations in Kyiv, Lviv in western Ukraine, and other cities that had seen comparatively few strikes in recent months.
Putin said on Friday that Moscow didn't see a need for additional massive strikes but his military would continue selective ones.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, interpreted Putin's remarks as intended to counter criticism from pro-war Russian bloggers who “largely praised the resumption of strikes against Ukrainian cities, but warned that a short campaign would be ineffective."
Russia has lost ground in the nearly seven weeks since Ukraine's armed forces opened their southern counteroffensive.
This week, the Kremlin launched what is believed to be its largest coordinated air and missile raids since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
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