Unexpected news from the front. Russia announced this week the formation of a “front-line creative brigade”, made up of musicians and singers, according to reports by the English radio BBC, collecting information from the British Ministry of Defense.
At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited frontline troops in Ukraine, according to Moscow. The meeting comes as British defense officials said low morale remains a “significant vulnerability in much of the Russian forces.”
According to Russian media, the impetus for this musical brigade comes after a recent campaign by the Russian Defense Ministry to encourage residents to donate musical instruments to soldiers.
“Military music and organized entertainment for deployed troops has a long history in many armies, but in Russia it is closely linked to the Soviet-era concept of ideological political education,” recalls the British Ministry of Defense.
The Russians worried about their losses
But will making war with music help boost the morale of the soldiers? Although the human and material losses are very high on the Russian side and Putin lacks clarity on his objectives, “it is unlikely that the efforts of the creative brigades will substantially alleviate these concerns,” London says.
One person was also killed on Sunday and five others wounded in Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram.
The day before, Ukraine was also in mourning. New Russian strikes killed five as authorities scrambled to restore power as quickly as possible after massive missile attacks on Friday caused power outages.
The highest number of human casualties from these attacks was recorded in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, with four dead and 15 injured.
Source: BFM TV
