Putin’s army crumbling as THIRD of deployed forces wiped out and troops’ morale battered

The Russian leader has staked all on his bid to take the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east. However, his forces continue to come up against fierce Ukrainian resistance and recently suffered a humiliating set back while trying to cross the Siverskyi Donets river. Latest intelligence reports from the UK’s Ministry of Defence claim the Russians have now “likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.”

Analysts also said that the Russian offensive had effectively stalled and that morale among the troops was “low”.

The MoD wrote in its most recent bulletin: “Russia’s Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule.

“Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high levels of attrition.

“Russia has now likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.”

They added: “Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness.

“Many of these capabilities cannot be quickly replaced or reconstituted, and are likely to continue to hinder Russian operations in Ukraine.

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days.”

More to follow…….