British Intelligence: Russia increasingly involves irregular units in offensive operations in Ukraine

The Ministry of Defense of Russia has increasingly centralized its command and control over irregular forces, which is likely to facilitate their use in offensive operations in Ukraine, stated British intelligence on June 14th.

The intelligence noted that in February 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense established its volunteer corps, which unified over 20,000 volunteers, reservists, mercenaries, and former convicts serving in various irregular units under a single command structure.

"Since the formation of the volunteer corps, the Russian irregular forces have been increasingly involved in offensive operations, despite their poor preparation. These formations mainly consist of light infantry units lacking integrated artillery or air support, which makes them more vulnerable compared to regular Russian forces," the statement read.

This recruitment campaign likely compensates for significant losses among Russian combatants and supports offensive activities on multiple fronts.

"Consequently, during the last 9 months, Russian irregular units have likely sustained proportionally higher casualty rates than Russian regular units.," added the intelligence report.