Russians forced to fight with shovels

Russian reservists serving on the front lines in Ukraine have described being ordered to fight with shovels that are more than a century old, according to British intelligence.

In its latest update Monday, the British Ministry of Defense reported that late last month, Moscow’s soldiers were forced to assault Ukrainian positions “armed with only ‘firearms and shovels.’ ”

The ministry commented that the shovels likely refer to the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool used for hand-to-hand combat, which was designed in 1869, two years into Tsar Nicholas II’s doomed reign.

According to the bulletin, the entrenching tool used for hand-to-hand combat has remained largely unchanged over the past 154 years, and “its continued use as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterize much of the war.”

One of the mobilized reservists was quoted as saying that he was “neither physically nor psychologically” prepared to attack Ukrainian soldiers with the shovel, whose lethal qualities have become the stuff of military lore among Russian servicemen.

According to British analysts, recent evidence suggests an increase in close combat in Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces have been trying for months to capture the key city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

“This is probably a result of the Russian command [continuing] to insist on offensive action largely consisting of dismounted infantry, with less support from artillery fire because Russia is short on munitions,” the update stated.