Russian soldiers are being forced to fight with only "firearms and shovels" in Ukraine amid a shortage in ammunition, according to an intelligence update by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense on Sunday.
The update suggests that the shovels in question are entrenching tools that are also being used for hand-to-hand combat and that this type of combat is becoming an increasing offense tactic for the Russian forces, due to ammunition shortages.
"The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologized in Russia," the UK Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter.
The tweet did not disclose which battles were being fought with the shovels.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 5 March 2023Find out more about Defence Intelligence: https://t.co/1rgcwN71nQ pic.twitter.com/aoDmbCIQ6v
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 5, 2023
Wagner Group is being denied ammunition
A few weeks ago, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's mercenary Wagner Groups, accused unspecified officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and parts of the Russian elite.
The Jerusalem Post has previously reported on Russia needing to rely on Soviet weaponry that has been stored since the 1970s. This is thought to be largely due to the economic impact of global sanctions, logistical issues, import restrictions and government corruption.
Some people theorize that Russia is losing momentum because they did not expect the war to have gone on for so long.
"Putin certainly thought that the war would be over in a few days, as happened in Crimea in 2014 and believed that he would conquer Ukraine and the West would simply accept it," said former Russia diplomat Boris Bondarev.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, there have been many reports of Russian soldiers not being sufficiently armed and equipped. A report in September by multiple intelligence agencies claimed that the soldiers were not properly trained and were not provided with the gear they needed for war.