Russia Hoping to Solve ‘Low Morale’ By Shooting Deserters, U.K. Intel Says

Russian forces in Ukraine are addressing their soldiers’ reluctance to fight by shooting deserters, according to a British intelligence report released Friday. “Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying “barrier troops” or “blocking units,” the update said. “These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces.” The report added that the tactic of shooting deserters “likely attests to the low quality, low morale and indiscipline of Russian forces.” The British report comes after The Daily Beast reported that Ukrainian spies intercepted audio in late October in which a Russian soldier described being in a “retreat-blocking detachment” tasked with killing any of his comrades trying to flee the front.