Russian soldiers are too DRUNK to fight in Ukraine & alcohol behind ‘extremely high’ casualties, says Brit intelligence
RUSSIAN soldiers are far too drunk to effectively fight in Ukraine, according to a staggering assessment by British intelligence.
Ministry of Defence officials revealed their latest assessment which revealed Vladimir Putin's tinpot army is awash with boozed up troops.
The intelligence blamed the near 200,000 casualties suffered by the Russians over the last year - at least in part - on their love of alcohol.
Putin's army has been struggling in Ukraine - making very few meaningful gains and now fighting grinding battles in the east.
Brit intel said "alcohol abuse" is likely linked to the military's poor performance.
They cited reports of an "extremely high" number of incidents, crimes and deaths linked to drunkenness amongst Putin's men.
READ MORE ON RUSSIA
Numerous anecdotal reports have emerged during the war of drunkenness among the Russian forces - especially amongst those called up in Vlad's shambolic mobilisation.
There have been reports of drunken brawls as demoralised and frightened soldiers guzzle vodka and other booze.
Some have reported Putin's drunken men accidentally blowing themselves up with grenades.
"Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness," said the MoD.
Most read in The Sun
"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."
Russia has long had a reputation as a booze loving nation.
But its alcohol consumption per capita is only marginally higher than the UK, with 11.7 litres as opposed to the UK's 11.4.
The embarrassing assessment by British intelligence is another damning indictment on Putin's failing military.
His forces are already reported to be under equipped and undertrained - with some soldiers being sent into battle armed with little more than shovels.
Vlad hasn't made the gains he or his commanders expected and Russia has found itself bogged down a long, brutal war as humiliating defeats pile up.
The tyrant now seemingly has his future tied to his success or failure in Ukraine.
Putin foolishly believed his forces would be welcomed into Ukraine as liberators when he invaded last February.
But instead the initial attack ended in a disaster which saw his forces devastated and thrown back to Russia.
Kyiv continues to call for Western support to help them defeat Putin.
The world is now awaiting to see if Ukraine will mount its long expected counter offensive, with much of the fiercest fighting currently centred around the city of Bakhmut.
