Russian soldiers operating in Ukraine are said to be suffering from a crisis of low morale amid a shortage of weapons and other essential supplies. In a vicious plot to stop struggling soldiers from retreating, Kremlin strategists have devised a method to force battalions onward using so-called “barrier troops”. This final line of soldiers have been tasked with executing Russian conscripts who attempt to flee the fighting.
Former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute Professor Michael Clark reported the brutal strategy had been implemented by the Wagner Group, President Putin’s de facto private army, in the east of Ukraine.
Professor Clark explained: “The Wagner Group, who are the mercenaries who work for the Kremlin, have been attacking Bakhmut for about four weeks now. These are very, very powerful attacks but they still haven’t taken it.
“We know from what’s been happening at Bakhmut that they have convicts in the frontline, they’ve got mobilised men behind them and regular [soldiers] behind them.
“The regulars, in the third line, are known as the barrier troops. Their job is to shoot any of the convicts or the mobilised men who retreat.”
Professor Clark noted a similar tactic was deployed by Soviet forces during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War.
He added: “That is the way they are fighting in Bakhmut and they are losing an enormous number of men and they still haven’t taken it.”
The Ministry of Defence echoed Professor Clark’s report of “barrier troops,” also known as “blocking units” among Kremlin armed forces in Ukraine.
An intelligence report detailed: “The tactic of shooting deserters likely attests to the low quality, low morale and indiscipline of Russian forces.”
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