UK reports shortage of staff, facilities and ammunition means 300,000 new recruits receive 'little or no training'
Russia struggles to train 300,000 conscripts as experienced officers and trainers have been killed, Britain says
Putin's 300,000 soldiers conscripted as part of the mobilization effort provide "a little extra offensive combat capability" as the Russian military struggles to train them, British intelligence has reported.
In its daily briefing, Britain's Ministry of Defence said troops were deployed with "little or no training".
This is partly due to a shortage of ammunition and facilities and partly because many experienced officers and trainers fought in Ukraine, with many likely dead, the Defense Ministry added.
It said:
The Russian armed forces have provided the training for some 300,000 troops needed for 'partial mobilization', announced September 21, 2022.
These problems will be exacerbated by an additional regular autumn annual conscription cycle, announced on September 30, 2022 and starting November 1, 2022, which is normally expected to carry an additional 120,000 personnel.
Newly mobilized conscripts may have had minimal or no training. Experienced officers and trainers have been deployed to fight in Ukraine and several may have died in the conflict.
Russian troops are conducting training in Belarus due to a shortage of training staff, ammunition and facilities in Russia. Deploying troops with little or no training provides a little extra offensive combat capability. Ukraine's foreign ministry claims its forces have killed another 600 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours.
The figures have been released as part of the daily preliminary update of the battlefield totals. The Guardian has not been able to verify them, and they differ from those provided by Russia.
The latest update includes another 12 drones that Ukraine shot down, bringing the total to 1,462. Its soldiers have killed about 75,440 soldiers, up from 74,840.
Ukraine's foreign ministry claims its forces have killed another 600 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours.
The figures have been released as part of the daily preliminary update of the battlefield totals. The Guardian has not been able to verify them, and they differ from those provided by Russia.
The latest update includes another 12 drones that Ukraine shot down, bringing the total to 1,462. Its soldiers have killed about 75,440 soldiers, up from 74,840.
Turkey will not formally approve Finland and Sweden's membership in NATO until the two countries take the necessary "steps," Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told the alliance's head, Jens Stoltenberg.
Agence France-Presse reported on Friday:
President Erdoan noted that the steps to be taken by Sweden and Finland will determine how quickly the approval process ... will proceed and when it will be completed.
Ankara accuses the two Nordic countries of providing a safe haven for outlawed Kurdish insurgents it deems "terrorists" and of refraining from ratifying their NATO membership despite an agreement in June.
Erdogan and Stoltenberg held a private meeting in Istanbul on Friday that was closed to the media.
Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and moved in May to become members of NATO, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Erdogan threatened to block their offer and seek concessions, leading to an agreement in June between Turkey, Finland and Sweden that included provisions on extradition and information sharing.
Sweden's new Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, will visit Ankara on Tuesday to meet with Erdogan on a trip that Stockholm hopes will result in Turkey's approval.
At least 112,000 Russians have emigrated to Georgia this year, according to border crossing statistics.
Reuters reports that the first major wave of 43,000 arrived after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and that President Vladimir Putin moved to quell opposition to the war at home, according to the Georgian government. The second wave came after Putin announced a national mobilization effort in late September.
Georgia's economic boom has baffled many experts who saw the dire consequences of the war for the former Soviet republic, whose economic fortunes were inextricably linked to that of its larger neighbours through exports and tourism.
Dimitar Bogov, chief economist for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, said:
Despite all the hopes we have ... that this war in Ukraine will have significant negative implications for the Georgian economy, so far we do not see this risk materializing. In contrast, we see Georgia's economy growing quite well this year – double digits.