Consumption Of Excessive Alcohol Accused Of Being The Cause Of Many Russian Soldiers Killed In Ukraine's Battlefield

Illustration of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - Excessive alcohol consumption is considered to be the cause of the large number of deaths by Russian troops in Ukraine, Britain's Ministry of Defense said on Sunday in its routine intelligence updates to the war.

"Although Russia has suffered up to 200,000 lives since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, most of this number has been caused by non-attacking causes," the ministry said.

The report noted a recent report by Russia's Telegram news channel on the "very high" number of incidents, crimes and deaths associated with alcohol consumption among Russian troops.

"However, with the habit of drinking alcohol that penetrates in most Russian people, it has long been seen as a part that has been secretly accepted in military life, even in combat operations," the report said.

The ministry also said that the main causes of non-commissioned victims were poor handling of weapons, accidents on highways and hypothermia.

Russian commanders are likely to identify widespread alcohol abuse as a very detrimental to combat effectiveness, the report said.

It is known that the UK Ministry of Defense has issued a daily update since the start of the Russian invasion, based on information from its intelligence agency. However, Moscow regards the report as disinformation.