Vladimir Putin has been shamed for the “inadequate training” of his soldiers in Ukraine.
In one of its latest assessments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence analysed incidents involving in recent months the accidental discharge of aerial munitions made by military aircraft from the Russian Federation.
On April 20, a Russian Su-34 aircraft experienced an “abnormal discharge of aviation ammunition” over Belgorod, a city in western Russia just kilometres away from the Ukrainian border.
On January 2, the Russian Defence Ministry acknowledged one of its aircraft had discharged by mistake a munition while flying over the village of Petropavlovka, in the Voronezh region.
Clips circulating on social media showed several buildings darkened by fire and smoke and with their windows destroyed. A massive hole could also be seen on the ground.
The Russian Defence Ministry admitted there had been an incident in Petropavlovka involving the country’s Aerospace Forces (VKS).
The statement read: “On January 2, at about 09.00am, during a flight of a VKS aircraft over the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region, an abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition occurred.”
The Ministry went on to claim “no one was injured”, an information provided also by Voronezh Governor Aleksandr Gusev.
Just days later, a FAB-250 unguided munition was discharged over the village of Rubizhne, in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk occupied by Russia.
Both these recent incidents happened during Russian combat sorties, the British MoD noted.
In its intelligence assessment, the ministry added: “Russia’s continued propensity for munition accident is likely exacerbated by inadequate training and crew fatigue, leading to poor execution of tactics during missions.”
Despite these dangerous blunders, Russia continues to pummel Ukraine with rockets as the war-torn country is warning the West it needs more military aid to continue its resistance.
As he is touring the Baltic States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country must bolster its air defences as Russia is intensifying its missile and drone onslaughts.
Russia is believed to be beefing up its weapons stocks by turning to North Korea for munitions and missiles and Iran for drones.
