Russian Soldiers Sell Supplies, Trade Them For Alcohol: Ukrainian Authorities

Russian service members in Belarus have started selling their food and fuel or exchanging them for alcohol, according to Ukrainian authorities.

"Along the routes of Russian military convoys on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, there have been many instances of Russian soldiers selling fuel and provisions or exchanging them for alcoholic drinks," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was quoted as saying by Pravda.

It was unclear why the supplies were being sold and traded.

The military staff did not disclose additional details regarding the report, which it revealed Sunday in a statement.

Russia’s forces in Ukraine are running out of food and fuel as the country's invasion of its neighbor stalls, according to British military intelligence.

They had three days' worth of fuel, food and ammunition left at one point, Ukrainian military commanders alleged.

"We do think that the Russian forces have used a lot of material including particular categories of weapons and we have seen isolated reports of particular units that have lacked supplies of one sort or another," an official said.

The Ukrainian military previously claimed that some of the rations that were given to Russian soldiers in the ongoing conflict were expired.

Russian soldiers have resorted to looting grocery stores and taking over farms over the course of the war, according to reports.

Aside from the alleged supply problems, morale among Russian troops may be an issue as well.

"They're struggling on so many fronts," an American official said.

Despite the supply issues, Russia still has the advantage over Ukraine in the war, according to experts.

"Russia retains, in overall terms, significant materiel and personnel reserves that it can draw upon," said a western source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Russia has reportedly around 900,000 active military personnel, while Ukraine has 196,000.

The former also has six times the number of tanks, almost seven times more armored vehicles and three times the amount of artillery than the latter.

Russia has lost about 15,600 personnel between the start of its invasion on Feb. 24 and Wednesday, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence claimed in its most recent Russian casualty report.

Russian combat losses also included 517 tanks, 1,578 armored fighting vehicles, 101 aircraft and 124 helicopters, among other pieces of military equipment.

This handout photo from the Russian Defence Ministry on February 21, 2022, shows Russian and Belarus tanks during joint exercises of their armed forces near Brest, Belarus Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via AFP