Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, head of the United Kingdom’s armed forces, told Sophie Raworth on BBC that Russia “struggling with their numbers” because so many civilians refuse to fight. He said military recruiters are being forced to look to “more rural areas” because so many in the cities “avoid” being drafted. He added that morale among the troops as well as among Russian civilians is low.
Mrs. Raworth said: “How much more do you know through intelligence about the state of Russian morale?
“Are the troops still demoralized or do they feel they are gaining something?”
Admiral Sir Tony said: “So there are some Russian troops that are clearly effective. They take ground and they are successful.
“But the overall force is struggling. They struggle with their numbers, but most of all they struggle with their morale.
“And you see that with President Putin’s inability to match the people with the equipment he has.
“Russia has just launched a mobilization to effectively call on reservists, but it has reached 30 percent of the numbers it would normally reach.
“They are increasingly having to move to the more rural areas of Russia because people are avoiding the military call in the cities.”
READ MORE: Ukraine LIVE: Russian Tanks and Ammunition Depots Destroyed [LIVE]