The Defense Ministry says the “extremely high” death toll of “200,000” Russian servicemen in the Ukraine war is linked to alcohol use.
- Russia has suffered nearly 200,000 casualties since its invasion of Ukraine
- The Department of Defense claims that the reason for the “minority” is non-combative reasons
- A large number of deaths are associated with the consumption of alcohol by the Russian soldier
Britain’s Ministry of Defense has said the “extremely high” number of deaths of Russian forces as part of the Ukraine war is linked to alcohol use.
Russia’s military forces are injuring themselves as a result of mishandling weapons and excessive drinking, according to an intelligence update from the ministry this morning.
Although Russia has suffered some 200,000 casualties since the start of its all-out invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago, the briefing said that “a significant minority of those were for non-combatant causes.”
Russia’s Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there were ‘extremely high’ numbers of alcohol consumption-related accidents, crimes and deaths among Russian troops deployed.
The MoD morning intelligence update (pictured) said a ‘significant minority’ of Russian casualties were ‘for non-combat reasons’
Other possible causes of non-combat injuries include poor weapon handling training, road traffic accidents, and climatic injuries such as hypothermia.
However, the Defense Ministry said that Russian commanders presumably identified rampant alcohol use as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.
They added, “However, with heavy drinking so pervasive in most of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even in combat operations.”
Russia’s Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there were ‘extremely high’ numbers of accidents, crimes and deaths related to alcohol consumption. Pictured: Russian soldiers patrol the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022
