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Ukrainian servicemen may desert army positions - Ukrainian army report says

The reconnaissance of the Donetsk People’s Republic reported huge concentrated of Ukrainian troops in Donbas

© EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA

MOSCOW, May 25 /TASS/. Military and psychological readiness of the Ukrainian army group in Donbas is low; the local population’s discontent is growing and the army command fears that soldiers will desert their positions in case military hostilities restart. These facts were revealed by an inspection commission of the Ukrainian army in a report which the reconnaissance of the Donetsk People’s Republic intercepted on Monday.

"Seventy percent of Ukrainian servicemen do not have the outfit necessary for waging military hostilities. Most of them are absolutely unprepared for fulfilling the assigned military tasks in defensive or offensive operations as well as for fighting in populated localities. Commanders are incompetent in fulfilling their line of duty," the Donetsk news agency quoted the report as saying.

"Low morale and the poor psychological state of Ukrainian servicemen lead to growing alcohol consumption and violation of military discipline. It is confirmed by the Ukraine Interior Ministry’s statistics and an increasing number of crimes against civilians committed by servicemen," the Ukrainian army inspection group said in conclusion. At the same time, the population of the Kiev government-controlled part of Donbas is getting growingly discontented with the presence of Ukrainian army units.

"Troopers in separate army units will not fulfill the assigned tasks if no additional coercive measures are used. There is a threat that entire units may desert their positions," the report said.

The reconnaissance of the Donetsk People’s Republic reported huge concentrated of Ukrainian troops in Donbas. The Ukrainian army has up to 45,000 troopers, up to 380 tanks and about 3,500 various weapons in the demilitarized zone, including about a thousand artillery guns and multiple rocket launcher systems, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said.

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