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Now Putin turns on his own men: Desperate Russian army brings in ‘blocking units’ that ‘threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers’
- Any retreating Russian soldiers will be shot, Vladimir Putin has warned
- ‘Blocking units’ or ‘Barrier troops’ threaten to shoot retreating soldiers
- Stalin used ‘barrier troops’ in his infamous ‘No One Step Back’ order in 1942
Vladimir Putin has deployed special forces to shoot down his own army as they withdraw from the war in Ukraine, British defense chiefs said Friday.
The British Ministry of Defense said Russia is deploying so-called “blocking units” that “threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers to force offensives”.
With low morale at a peak among Russian soldiers, Putin is turning on his own men.
“Due to low morale and unwillingness to fight, Russian forces have likely started deploying ‘barrier troops’ or ‘blocking units,'” the defense ministry said in an intelligence update on Friday.
Vladimir Putin has deployed special forces to shoot down his own army as they withdraw from war in Ukraine
“These units threaten to shoot down their own retreating soldiers to force offensives and have been used by Russian forces in previous conflicts.”
This comes after the Russian president issued a chilling warning to residents of occupied Kherson in Ukraine, ordering them to leave or be deported to Russian-occupied territory.
The despot made his remarks in an interview with state media in Moscow, in which he indicated that his troops could soon withdraw as Ukraine pushes further towards the city occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war.
“Those who still live in Kherson should definitely be removed from the area of the most dangerous hostilities… civilians should not suffer shelling, attacks, counter-attacks or the like,” Putin said.
There are reports that Russian soldiers have left the checkpoints in Kherson and moved to the east bank of the Dnipro River. Kirill Stremousov, one of Putin’s puppet officials in the occupation administration, imposed a 24-hour curfew in the city last night. The former Ukrainian politician, wanted for treason by Kiev, said it was “to defend our city of Kherson” against what he called “terrorist attacks”.
The despot made his remarks in an interview with state media in Moscow, in which he indicated that his troops could soon withdraw as Ukraine pushes further towards the city snatched by Russian forces in the early days of the war.
He urged civilians to flee and said columns of Ukrainian vehicles had been spotted on the front line and an attack was possible.
On Thursday, he admitted that “we have to make some very difficult decisions” after photos circulated of his headquarters with the Russian flag no longer on it.
Officials in Ukraine have privately admitted that they are wary, saying it could be an attempt to trap Ukrainian troops. The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said it is “unclear” whether the occupying forces really intend not to fight for the strategic Black Sea port.
As another clear sign of Russia’s massive military weakness, Putin yesterday signed a decree allowing serious convicted criminals to join the Russian military, effectively giving murderers and rapists their freedom if they are willing to fight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of “energy terrorism” after attacks on Ukrainian facilities left millions of residents without power.
Russia has carried out missile and drone strikes on power plants in recent weeks, leaving 4.5 million people across the country without electricity.