Russian draftees try to avoid direct participation in hostilities - Ukraine’s deputy defense minister

That’s according to Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar of Ukraine, who spoke at a briefing on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

"In the very first battles, it became clear that the priority for the newly-arrived draftees is the desire to avoid participating in hostilities. Due to the low level of their training, manpower losses are increasing, including of servicemen with combat experience, which leads to mass discontent in the units of the Russian occupation forces," Maliar said.

At the same time, according to the official, the arrival of a significant number of recently mobilized servicemen leads to a major deterioration of the social and political situation in the captured territories.

"Most of the arriving occupiers, being in public places and markets where they buy food, drinks, and clothes behave rudely, provoking altercations with the local population," said Maliar.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 89,440 Russian invaders from February 24 to December 1, including 560 in the past day alone.