Ukraine war: Russia 'to draft in soldiers who left 10 years ago' as significant losses mount

Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia are seen atop of a tank with the letter
Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia are seen atop of a tank with the letter "Z" painted on its sides. (Reuters)
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Russia is considering drafting in soldiers who left its armed forces up to 10 years ago as they struggle to deal with mounting losses in Ukraine, British intelligence has suggested.

Moscow has admitted losing a "significant" number of troops since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on 24 February.

Ukrainian authorities have claimed more than 17,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive. Last month a Nato source said the numbers of Russian soldiers killed was as high as 15,000.

Despite repeated claims from the Kremlin that their war is "going to plan", Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Putin, admitted on Thursday that their forces have suffered "significant losses".

Watch: Ukraine says it has found more than 1,200 bodies in Kyiv region

Russia has not provided an ongoing commentary on their losses, but last month admitted 1,351 of their troops have died in Ukraine.

Army commanders are among those to have been killed, it is understood, as Russia sends them to the frontlines to boost morale amongst troops.

Western intelligence sources said a commander was killed by his own troops who ran him over with a vehicle after growing frustrated by their unit's heavy losses.

And in a hint that the Kremlin wants to see an end to the war - although in what form is unknown - Peskov said: "Our military are doing their best to bring an end to that operation.

"And we do hope that in coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will reach its goals or will finish it by the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegation," Peskov told Sky News.

Click on this image to see all Yahoo News UK's latest content on the Ukraine crisis
Click on this image to see all Yahoo News UK's latest content on the Ukraine crisis

According to The Times, Russia is looking at solving its manpower issues by bringing in soldiers who left the armed forces as far back as 2012.

It is also thought they could solve some issues by deploying 134,000 conscripts who serve for a year.

However, Putin has previously vowed not to take the unpopular choice. The defence ministry has admitted that some conscripts have been killed or captured in the war.

Emergency workers shift the rubble from a multi-storey building destroyed in a Russian attack, at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in Borodyanka, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022.  (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Emergency workers shift the rubble from a multi-storey building destroyed in a Russian attack. (AP)
FILE - Ukrainian soldiers and emergency employees work outside a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. An Associated Press team of journalists was in Mariupol the day of the airstrike and raced to the scene. Their images prompted a massive Russian misinformation campaign that continues to this day. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Ukrainian soldiers and emergency employees work outside a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol. (AP)

Russia has been looking at alternative ways of bolstering its troops, with the Ministry of Defence claiming soldiers from Transnistria, a breakaway pro-Moscow region of Moldova that borders southwestern Ukraine, could be brought in.

Last month it was reported that Russia was recruiting Syrians to fight to increase their numbers.

In addition to troop losses, Putin's forces have lost ground in recent weeks, being pushed back from areas they previously had control over north of Kyiv.

All their forces have retreated from around the capital, amid reports they are concentrating their forces to launch a new, larger offensive in the south-east of the country.

FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv.(AP)

Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing hundreds of civilians in the town of Bucha, just outside of Kyiv, following their retreat.

On Thursday, Russia was expelled from the UN Human Rights Council after delegates voted 93 to 24 to remove them following allegations of Russian soldiers carrying out mass killings, rape and torture.

The vote came after a push from the US, with the draft text for the vote expressing "grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine".

Fifty-eight nations abstained from the vote.

A two-thirds majority of voting members in the 193-member General Assembly in New York was needed to suspend Russia from the 47-member Geneva-based Human Rights Council.