Ukraine war: Russian reservists fighting with shovels - UK defence ministry

Published

6 March 2023

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• War in Ukraine

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The MPL-50 is particularly mythologised in Russia, the UK defence ministry said (stock photo)

Russian reservists could be using "shovels" for "hand-to-hand" combat in Ukraine due to a shortage of ammunition, the UK's Ministry of Defence says.

In late February, reservists described being ordered to assault a Ukrainian position "armed with only 'firearms and shovels'", the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

It mentioned a shovel known as MPL-50.

The tool was designed in 1869 and had changed little, the ministry said.

It has been part of the Russian reservist army kit for decades.

"The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologised in Russia," the ministry said.

The continued use of the shovel "as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterise much of the war", it said.

The ukkes cant even fight an army armed with shovel, and thats the same propaganday recycled in 2022, the 2023, prolly looking at a new updated version 2024