Russia is sending a ragtag “suicide battalion” of former police, sailors, reservists and volunteers into the bloody Ukraine invasion.
The hastily recruited mob replaces a section of Moscow’s invasion force almost entirely massacred early in the war.
Out of 648 troops from the 200th Motorised Rifle Brigade, 645 were killed.
Just three men returned home, two wounded, from the bungled operation.
It is believed the recruits have been lured with short-term contracts.
One western source told the Daily Mirror: “This is more like a suicide battalion. They are likely to be sent into the grinding battle in the east.”
Ukrainian military officials believe 36,000 Russian troops have died in the war, leaving Moscow desperate.
Bruce Jones, an expert on Russia ’s military, said: “For many volunteering this will amount to a one-way ticket. The recruiters and trainers know this.”
He said volunteers will be “desperate for cash, barely suitable and poorly equipped”.
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s hollow congratulations to troops after taking Lysychansk, marking Moscow’s domination of the Luhansk region. It leaves just Donetsk as the remaining Donbas region Russia is eyeing.
But one adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed: “This is their last victory on Ukrainian territory.”
Neil Melvin, of the UK RUSI think-tank, said: “It’s likely that we’ll see momentum swing to Ukraine.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the first group of up to 10,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK to join a basic soldier training course.
He said it includes “weapons training, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and training on the law of armed conflict”.
