British Defence Ministry on Monday said the new troops the Russian military deployed to Ukraine would be poorly trained and are likely to “suffer a high attrition rate.”

In its latest brief report on the war, the ministry said Moscow would “face an administrative and logistical challenge to provide training for the troops.”

It said this came following the call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The lack of military trainers, and the haste with which Russia has started the mobilisation, suggests that many of the drafted troops will deploy to the front line with minimal relevant preparation,” it added.

It noted that Russian practice was to train troops in their operational units and not at dedicated training establishments, with a cadre of instructors from the units to train the new recruits.

However, it said many potential instructors had already been deployed to Ukraine.

The call-up had led thousands of Russian men to flee abroad, with flights rapidly booked out after the Wednesday announcement and queues of vehicles building at borders.

There had also been demonstrations on the streets of Russian cities, to which the authorities had responded with hundreds of arrests.

The war in Ukraine is set to take another turn this week as four Ukrainian regions conclude referendums on joining Russia, which were derided by Western powers as a sham.

The result of the votes was set to be used by the Kremlin as a pretext to annex the Russian-occupied territories in the east and south of Ukraine. 

(dpa/NAN)