Russia says it will deploy musicians to the front lines of its invasion of Ukraine, as the country looks to boost morale among demoralised invading soldiers.
The reported inspection comes as UK defence officials said low morale across the Russian force continues to be a "significant vulnerability".
The UK said the entertainment unit, which comes after by a campaign that urged Russians to donate musical instruments, is in keeping an established approach of using "military music and organised entertainment" to raise the spirits of troops. A Russian military band performs on Red Square during the general rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 7, 2022.But it raised the question of whether the unit would actually serve to distract them, with soldiers concerned primarily with "very high casualty rates, poor leadership, pay problems, lack of equipment and ammunition, and lack of clarity about the war's objectives".
Russian outlet RBC news said the brigade made up of army personnel who joined the invasion under President Vladimir Putin's recruitment drive, and "professional artists who voluntarily entered military service". Its job will be to maintain "a high moral, political and psychological state [among] the participants of the special military operation," RBC news cited the defence ministry as saying.
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