‘Extremely high’ number of the ‘200,000’ Russian troop deaths in Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse, MoD says
- Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties since its invasion of Ukraine
- The Ministry of Defence claims a ‘minority’ are due to non-combat causes
- A high number of deaths are linked to Russian soldier’s alcohol consumption
The UK Ministry of Defence said an ‘extremely high’ number of Russian troop deaths as a part of the Ukraine war are linked to alcohol abuse.
Russian military forces are injuring themselves as a result of poor handling of weapons and heavy drinking, according to the ministry’s morning intelligence update.
Although Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago, the briefing said ‘a significant minority of these have been due to non-combat causes’.
A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there have been ‘extremely high’ numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption amongst the deployed Russian troops.
A Russian Telegram news channel reported on March 28 that there have been ‘extremely high’ numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption. Pictured: Russian servicemen patrolling in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022
Other likely causes of non-combat casualties included poor weapon handling drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia
However, the MoD said that Russian commanders presumably identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.
They added: ‘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.’
