Some of Russia’s combat units in Donbas “unreliable” for offensive - British Defense Ministry

Russia is struggling to motivate the proxy forces it is using to augment its regular army in Eastern Ukraine.

That’s according to a series of tweets by the British Ministry of Defense, Ukrinform reports.

“Russia is likely increasingly struggling to motivate the auxiliary forces it is using to augment its regular troops in the Donbas,” the ministry’s press service tweeted.

“Commanders are probably resorting to direct financial incentives, while some combat units are deemed unreliable for offensive operations,” the report reads.

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A consistent contributing factor to these problems is Russia’s classification of the war as a “special military operation” which limits the state’s powers of legal coercion, British defense officials note.

As Ukrinform reported earlier Russian military death toll in Ukraine was reported at nearly 45,400 as of August 22.