Famed Russian General Georgy Zhukov must be rolling over in his grave.
It was Zhukov who masterminded the former Soviet Union’s military drive that scuppered the Nazis during the Second World War.
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Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hodge-podge of unwilling recruits are in full flight.
A new report claims soldiers in the dictator’s newly formed 3rd Army Corps fighting in Ukraine are frequently drunk, are suffering from low morale and are using Cold War-era, obsolete weapons on the battlefield.
According to Newsweek, the beleaguered Russian military pulled together the unit last June in a bid to replace tens of thousands of killed and wounded troops taken off the board since the invasion began in February.
Most of the 15,000 soldiers are described by the Kremlin as “volunteers”.
However, sources in Ukrainian intelligence citing “available information” say the outfit is struggling partly because of “obsolete and unusable weapons and military equipment”.
Now, the unit is reportedly verging on mutiny, refusing orders and abandoning their positions and flooding east out of harm’s way.
Another serious problem is heavy “consumption of alcoholic beverages” and “systematic violations of military discipline”. The result is a drunk, undisciplined and demoralized unit.
In September, Forbes magazine reported that the 3rd Army Corps is filled with older “volunteers” who are unfit for a barroom brawl let alone combat. Included are a large number of junkies and alcoholics who signed up to get the $5,000 U.S. per month pay — five times higher than the average Russian salary.
Forbes said the unit was deployed in eastern Ukraine in the Kharkiv region. But Ukraine launched a master-stroke counter-offensive that recaptured huge swaths of territory and sending Russian forces racing back to the Motherland.
In their wake, the boozing brigade abandoned tanks and other military vehicles.
So far, Russia claims it has called up more than 200,000 reservists out of an estimated 300,000 it intends to throw into battle.
Meanwhile, more than 370,000 Russian men have fled to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Mongolia and the European Union. Lineups at the Finnish border have been 35 km long as the future cannon fodder flees.
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The situation is eerily like the Pentagon’s Project 100,000 during the Vietnam War. As the casualties mounted, rules were loosened for draftees deemed too dim or out-of-shape for combat.
Uncharitably called the Moron Brigade, the less-than-perfect recruits were spread throughout the U.S. Army in Vietnam with disastrous results. Project 100,000 members had significantly higher casualties.
In addition, some were so stupid they would often get other soldiers killed.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun