“Russia to deploy new ‘Storm Z’ units to Ukrainian frontline” | War Ukraine and Russia

While the claim cannot be independently verified, the ISW says it obtained the sensitive information from a “trustworthy” Ukrainian reserve officer. The latter would have received official Russian documents revealing the plans for the ‘Storm Z’ units.

The new brigades would be deployed in “particularly complex combat missions”, such as fighting in cities or areas with “difficult geographical conditions”. The intention is that the recruits conquer strategically important places such as command posts and communication centers, it sounds.

Each unit would consist of about a hundred men, including recruited prisoners. The recruits will receive a training of barely ten to fifteen days and will then be divided into different teams, including a reconnaissance team and an assault team. Each member of the ‘Storm Z’ unit would receive approximately 2,300 euros per month.

According to the ISW, the units will mainly be stationed on the front lines near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, where Russian offensives have so far been “largely unsuccessful”.

Just last week, British military intelligence reported that the Russians had begun preparations for a new military recruitment of 400,000 soldiers. But Russia is not only facing a shortage of manpower, the armed forces also urgently need more ammunition and military equipment.

Due to the “arbitrary composition of the Russian units, the poor quality of the army and the low morale among the soldiers,” the ISW said, “it is unlikely that the ‘Storm Z’ brigades will provide the Russian forces with a significant offensive advantage. ”