UK Defense Ministry: Russian conscripts face heavy casualties in Ukraine

The U.K. Defense Ministry said there are likely high casualty rates among mobilized Russian reservists due to frontal assaults near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, and digging trench systems under artillery fire near Svatove, Luhansk Oblast.

The ministry said Russian conscripts often face “confusion over eligibility for service, inadequate training and personal equipment, and commitment to highly attritional combat missions.”

Many reservists are likely deployed without adequate medical status checks, and many are compelled to serve with serious health conditions.

“The Kremlin will likely be concerned that an increasing number of reservists’ families are prepared to risk arrest by protesting against the conditions their relatives are serving under,” the ministry added.

The Institute for the Study of War said on Nov. 2 that Russian enlistment officers are continuing to mobilize men despite Shoigu’s previous announcements of the conclusion of partial mobilization and transition into the conscription period on Oct. 28.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared partial mobilization in Russia on Sept. 21.