Russia is ‘running out of steam’ in its invasion of Ukraine, the head of MI6 has said.
Richard Moore, chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service, made the remark while retweeting an update from the Ministry of Defence which said: ‘The Kremlin is growing desperate.’
It goes on to state that Vladimir Putin’s forces have lost ‘tens of thousands of soldiers’ and are using ‘Soviet-era weapons’, adding: ‘Russia won’t win this unjust war.’
Ukraine’s foreign ministry claimed in its latest update that 40,670 Russian troops have been killed and nearly 4,000 armoured personnel vehicles destroyed.
Other equipment destroyed is said to include 1,759 tanks, 222 aircraft and 190 helicopters.
Volunteer battalions are being formed across Russia to bolster depleting forces on the frontline, according to CNN.
Analysts believe more than 30,000 volunteers may have been signed up to assist in Moscow’s ‘special military operation’.
They are thought to have been lured from mostly poorer areas by the offer of quick cash.
Kateryna Stepanenko, Russia researcher at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, told CNN: ‘Some battalions will partake exclusively in combat support and combat support operations (such as logistics or signal battalions), while others will reinforce pre-existing military units or form combat battalions.’
‘The short-term training is unlikely to turn volunteers with no prior experience into effective soldiers in any unit.’
It follows reports that Putin was enlisting convicted murderers and jailed military spies to bolster his ranks, with hundreds of inmates signing up in exchange for a pardon.
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