Increasing friendly fire incidents highlight turmoil in Russian forces
Low morale, alcohol abuse, ethnic tensions, and the recruitment of convicts with criminal pasts into the military create a combination within the Russian armed forces that results in frequent cases of fratricide, reported the British Ministry of Defence on Sunday.
In the daily intelligence update, it was reported that on 5-6 May, at least eleven Russian soldiers were shot as a result of friendly fire.
Russians were shooting at their own
In connection with one of these incidents, which occurred on 6 May, the military police are actively searching for a soldier who killed six of his comrades. The wanted soldier is a former prisoner recruited into the Storm-Z unit, attached to an artillery battalion in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
The second incident took place on 5 May, when a soldier from the 38th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade shot five soldiers after consuming alcohol.
It was noted that cases of friendly fire have been occurring in the Russian military since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and can have deadly consequences for bystanders.
It was recalled that in mid-August 2023, in the town of Urzuf near Mariupol, Chechen fighters and Russian soldiers opened fire on each other after an argument following alcohol consumption, resulting in the deaths of eleven people, including four Russian soldiers and seven civilians.
"These cases of friendly fire are a symptomatic combination of low morale, alcohol abuse, and ethnic tensions. The continued use of convicts from Storm-Z with criminal pasts and histories of violence on the battlefield further exacerbates the instances of friendly fire," it was written.
