Russia is desperate to make up for its devastating troop losses in Ukraine and has recently begun training new battalions of volunteers meant to help it turn the tide in a war that doesn’t seem to be going its way. But one such unit, the 3rd Army Corps, has troops who apparently spend much of their time drunk and disturbing locals in the area where it trains, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Such observations may indicate that these recent recruits lack discipline and will struggle to bolster Russia’s war effort with considerable ability. According to the magazine, residents in the town of Mulino – where the training was taking place – have complained about the new combat unit on social media. “The whole village is suffering because of these volunteers,” a woman identified as Ksenia Glotova wrote on the Russian social network VK. “They walk in groups and harass. It would be one thing if they trained and stayed at their base. But they’ve been running around drunk since 11 in the morning.” Yekaterina Horoshavina, another user, said the unit seemed proud to be ready to deploy to Ukraine, writing that “they say they’ll defend us, but based on what we’ve seen we won’t be sleeping too easy. ” Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to be expanded by 137,000 from 2023. The announcement came a day after the six-month anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The conflict has turned into a war of attrition, with Russia mainly focused on making gains in the eastern Donbas region and holding on to occupied territory in the south. But progress has been gradual, and Russia’s progress has essentially stalled. The Pentagon recently announced that up to 80,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed or wounded so far in the war, a staggering number in just half a year of combat. As Russia tries to bolster its ranks, Ukraine looks set to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive in the south. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine breached the first line of defense of the occupiers near Kherson,” the strategic communication center of the Ministry of Culture and Political Information of Ukraine said in a statement on Monday. “They believe that Ukraine has a real chance to take back its occupied territories, especially considering the very successful use of Western weapons by the Ukrainian military.”
