“Extremely high” deaths of Russian troops in the Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse, says MoD

Britain’s Ministry of Defense has said an “extremely high” number of Russian troop deaths in the Ukraine war have been linked to alcohol abuse.

Russian forces are getting injured due to poor weapon handling and heavy drinking, according to the ministry’s morning intelligence update.

Although Russia has suffered some 200,000 casualties since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago, the briefing said: “A significant minority of these are due to non-combat causes.”

A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there had been an “extremely high” number of alcohol-related incidents, crimes and deaths among deployed Russian troops.

Other likely causes of non-combat casualties included poor gun-handling practice, traffic accidents, and climatic injuries such as hypothermia

A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there had been an “extremely large number” of alcohol-related incidents, crimes and deaths. Pictured: Russian soldiers patrol the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022

However, the Defense Ministry said Russian commanders are likely to see pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.

They added: “But because heavy drinking is pervasive in much of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even on combat missions.”

This follows recent reports that Vladimir Putin’s commanders are forcing his conscripts at gunpoint to remain on the front lines using a brutal Stalinist tactic.

Soldiers appealed to Putin in the hope that he would be shocked by their revelations – but all the evidence is that he approves of this “meat grinder” tactic.

In a new video in which Russian reservists conscripts appealed directly to Vladimir Putin, the Men said they had a choice – to stay on the front lines and stand a slim chance of surviving, or to withdraw and face a bullet in the head – from compatriots in Putin’s “retreat blockade detachments”.

They said: ‘Retreat blockades were set up against us and they didn’t let us out of the positions.’

According to figures released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last month, the number of Russian casualties in Vladimir Putin’s invasion has exceeded 150,000.