PUTIN’S STUPID WAR: The Russian Military Is Destroying Itself In Ukraine.

The British Military Intelligence has assessed that “a significant minority” of Russian casualties in Ukraine have been caused “due to non-combat causes.

Non-combat deaths are normal on a battlefield. But Russian Telegram news channels report “extremely high” numbers of deaths linked to alcohol consumption and crime.

“Other leading causes of non-combat casualties likely include poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia. Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate on the war.

Although completely foreign to Western professional miliary forces, alcohol consumption is an integral part of Russian culture, especially Russian military culture.

“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,” the British Military Intelligence added.

I’ve written time and again that Kyiv/Western estimates of Russian casualties are likely inflated, but serious problems with alcohol and poor discipline in the Russian military are as old as the Russian military. A year of heavy combat with very little to show for it probably isn’t helping.