A March 5 intelligence update on the war in Ukraine from the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) says Russian reservist soldiers are being ordered to use shovels as more conventional battle weapons are in short supply.
“In late February 2023, Russian mobilized reservists described being ordered to assault a Ukrainian concrete strong point armed with only firearms and shovels,” the update read. MOD says the shovels are likely entrenching tools being used for hand-to-hand combat.
“The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologized in Russia,” the intelligence update continues. “Little changed since it was designed in 1869, its continued use as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterize much of the war.”
One reservist has described being neither physically or psychologically prepared for such use of the shovels.
MOD says intel suggests that Russia is short of munitions. “Recent evidence suggests an increase in close combat in Ukraine,” the update said. “This is probably a result of the Russian command continuing to insist on offensive action largely consisting of dismounted infantry, with less support from artillery fire because Russia is short of munitions.”
