Ukraine: Russia to deploy musicians to front to boost morale

Russia says it volition deploy musicians to the beforehand lines of its warfare successful Ukraine successful a bid to boost morale.

The defence ministry announced the enactment of the "front-line originative brigade" this week, saying it would see some vocalists and musicians.

Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited frontline troops successful Ukraine, the authorities said.

In a connection posted to Telegram, the defence ministry said Mr Shoigu "flew astir the areas of deployment of troops and checked the precocious positions of Russian units successful the portion of the peculiar subject operation".

It added that helium "spoke with troops connected the frontline" and astatine a "command post" - but the BBC cannot corroborate erstwhile the sojourn took spot oregon whether Mr Shoigu visited Ukraine itself.

The reported sojourn comes arsenic UK defence officials said debased morale continues to beryllium a "significant vulnerability crossed overmuch of the Russian force".

The UK said the caller originative brigade - which follows a caller campaign, urging the nationalist to donate philharmonic instruments to troops - is successful keeping with the historical usage of "military euphony and organised entertainment" to boost morale.

But they questioned whether the caller brigade would really distract troops, who person been chiefly acrophobic astir "very precocious casualty rates, mediocre leadership, wage problems, deficiency of instrumentality and ammunition, and deficiency of clarity astir the war's objectives".

According to the Russian outlet RBC news, the brigade volition dwell of troops mobilised nether President Vladimir Putin's recruitment drive, arsenic good arsenic "professional artists who voluntarily entered subject service".

The caller portion volition beryllium tasked with maintaining "a precocious moral, governmental and intelligence authorities [among] the participants of the peculiar subject operation," the outlet cited the defence ministry arsenic saying.

The areas has seen dense clashes betwixt Ukrainian and Russian troops for months, arsenic Russia seeks to clasp territory pursuing a drawstring of defeats successful eastbound Ukraine earlier this year.

Western quality officials person antecedently said Russian attacks connected the municipality are being spearheaded by the backstage subject contractor, Wagner Group.

Moscow hopes to usage the municipality arsenic a staging crushed to motorboat attacks connected the Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Elsewhere, heating has been restored to the Ukrainian superior of Kyiv, aft Russian launched wide strikes connected Friday that targeted powerfulness and h2o infrastructure, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Moscow launched 76 missiles connected Friday, hitting 9 powerfulness proviso stations and plunging overmuch of the state into darkness. Ukraine said it intercepted 60.