Russia uses mobilised men from temporarily occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "cannon fodder" - Intelligence Directorate
Iryna Balachuk — Saturday, 19 March 2022
The Russian Federation is using mobilised men from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk [ORDLO] as "cannon fodder" – they are sent in as combat reconnaissance to determine the firing positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Of the 250-300 "mobilised" men that have been deployed as such, 200 have not returned.
Source: Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, with the reference to mobilised men from CADLR
Quote: "One such division consisting of 250-300 people, on 16-17 March lost about 200 "mobilised" men in the Mykolaiv direction. The remains of the unit which returned to the Kherson area are absolutely demoralised and refuse further participation in combat operations."
Details: According to the "mobilised" themselves, Russian command uses them as "bait" – they are sent forward as the first echelon of reconnaissance combat. Such units move to the front line in military vehicles, ignoring the high losses. This tactic is used to attempt to determine the location of firing positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the Intelligence Directorate, Russia is actively "mobilising" men in the occupied territories of Donbas. However, these units have very little combat training, discipline, and morale.
