Russian reservists fighting in Ukraine with shovels, MOD says

Russian troops are using shovels for "hand-to-hand" combat in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has said.

According to an MOD intelligence update, Russian mobilised reservists described being ordered to assault a Ukrainian strongpoint in late February armed with only "firearms and shovels".

The shovels in question are most likely the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool, the MOD added.

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Invented in 1869, by a Danish officer, the MPL-50 looks like a normal shovel, is around 50cm long with a steel blade that is sharpened down one side.

The design of the MPL-50 has not changed much since it was first invented and has been used in battle by soldiers of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.

The lethality of the combat shovels have been "mythologised" in Russia, according to the MOD update.

Russian troops are likely having to resort to primitive weapons and close combat due to not having enough munitions.

The MOD said the shovel's use "highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting” that has characterised much of the war.

The intelligence update said: "One of the reservists described being 'neither physically nor psychologically' prepared for the action.

"Recent evidence suggests an increase in close combat in Ukraine.

"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 of munitions."

Ukrainian troops have said that they have been confronted with "zombie waves" of Russian soldiers on the battlefield, according to reports from the frontline.

Speaking on the Sitrep podcast, Colin Freeman of The Telegraph newspaper told Forces News that Russian troops are charging blindly into battle, with the level of recklessness of the assault suggesting that they are on drugs.

According to Mr Freeman, Ukrainian troops find that type of chaotic assault "psychologically unnerving".

Intense combat has been raging around the besieged mining city of Bakhmut, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the Donbas region.

According to MOD intelligence published on Saturday, the city is "under increasingly severe pressure", but Russia has not yet taken control.

The city falling into Russian hands would be the first victory for Russia in its winter offensive and the first time in eight months for a Ukrainian city to be captured by Russia.