"Uncertainty" among Russian officials as arrests continue for blue and yellow colors - British intelligence

That’s according to the British Ministry of Defense referring to intelligence data, Ukrinform reports.

As noted, local Russian security officials are likely interpreting "Russia's draconian wartime legislation to mean that public display of blue and yellow items is outlawed because it might evidence discreet support for Ukraine."

On May 9, a care home worker was arrested for wearing a blue and yellow jacket to work.

In recent days, Russian National Guard troops arrested a 22-year-old man in Volkhov near St. Petersburg for displaying which was eventually determined to be the blue and yellow flag of Russia’s own Aerospace Forces.

"The clampdown highlights uncertainty within a paranoid Russian officialdom of what is and is deemed permissible within an increasingly totalitarian system. Criticism of the arrests has come from an unexpected quarter: the ultra-nationalist, pro-war Liberal Democratic party. The party's own branding features yellow on a blue background."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in their previous update, British intelligence analysts noted that, despite their growing importance in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the combat readiness of the Russian Airborne Assault Forces has significantly deteriorated compared to their "elite" status before the invasion of Ukraine.