Russia's Ground Forces Poorly Trained and Using Antiquated Equipment: U.K.

Russia's ground forces in Ukraine are mostly made up of "poorly trained mobilized reservists" who are "increasingly reliant on antiquated equipment," according to a new intelligence assessment.

Many of the units in Russia's Combined Grouping of Forces are "severely under-strength" and often only completing "very simple, infantry-based operations," the British Defense Ministry said in a post to Twitter on Sunday.

Although the Combined Grouping of Forces still likely has over 200,000 personnel, it is probably unable to conduct effective military operations along the entire front line, the government department said.

At the start of the war effort in February 2022, Russia's deployed armed forces in Ukraine "consisted of professional soldiers" with more modern vehicles, who were "aspiring to complex, joint operations," the ministry added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Throughout the war, Russia's armed forces in Ukraine have been plagued by reports of limited training, poor morale, and substandard or dwindling weapons supplies.

Experts previously told Newsweek that Russia expended many of its more "elite" personnel in the initial weeks and months of the war, backfilling its forces with less experienced, mobilized personnel as the invasion effort dragged on.

In September 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a "partial mobilization" of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine. Shortly after the measure was announced, the British Defense Ministry said Russia would probably struggle to provide instruction for the newly drafted troops who "likely have minimal training or no training at all."

Back in February 2023, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Moscow's casualty rate had "significantly increased" since this call-up.

This comes as Ukraine continues to counterattack Russian forces in the decimated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to military assessments, as Moscow awaits a more general push from Kyiv's armed forces. The city has been the site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, with Ukraine's forces committed to stopping Russian troops from capturing the settlement.

Ukrainian forces regained at least a kilometer of territory in the contested city in recent days, the British Defense Ministry said on Saturday. As of May 13, Ukrainian forces had retaken 16.85 square kilometers in and around Bakhmut through recent counterattacks, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank added on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Eastern Grouping of Forces, said defensive operations were ongoing around Bakhmut, and that "our soldiers are moving forward in some areas of the front."

Russian forces are "losing equipment and manpower," he added.

"Our troops are gradually advancing in two directions in the suburbs of Bakhmut," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, wrote on social media on Saturday.