Not Out Of Concern For Civilians. British Intelligence Names Reasons For Russian Offensive Slowdown

The British intelligence called deliberate disinformation a statement by the Russian defense minister that the Russian Federation allegedly slowed down the military campaign as a "gesture of goodwill" to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

This was reported in the daily intelligence update of the British Ministry of Defence about the war in Ukraine for August 26.

“This (the statement) is almost certainly deliberate misinformation. Russia’s offensive has stalled because of poor Russian military performance and fierce Ukrainian resistance. Under Shoigu’s orders, the forces operating in Ukraine have repeatedly missed planned operational timelines. It is highly likely that Shoigu and President Putin have fired at least six generals for not advancing quickly enough,” the British intelligence reports.

The review also recalled the strike of the Russian Federation by the SS-26 Iskander short-range ballistic missile on the Chaplyne station in Dnipropetrovsk region on Independence Day, which hit a passenger train and civilian cars, as a result of which 25 people were killed.

“This highlights Russia’s willingness to cause collateral damage when it perceives there is military advantage in launching missile or artillery strikes,” the British intelligence said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the invaders could not completely capture any Ukrainian region, including Luhansk region. Russia did not achieve most of its goals and weakened its diplomatic, economic and army position, compared to the situation before the invasion.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine "goes according to the plan," and the Russian offensive was allegedly slowed down specifically to "minimize casualties" among the civilian population.

Meanwhile, during the six months of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian losses amounted to 45,700 troops.