Russia bolstering troop number with discharged personnel: UK

London, April 10 (Agency) The UK on Sunday said that Russia is on way to strengthen the number of troops with the inclusion of military personnel discharged from armed forces since 2012. The UK Defence Ministry in a series of tweets said, “In response to mounting losses, the Russian armed forces seek to bolster troop numbers with personnel discharged from military service since 2012”. “Efforts to generate more fighting power also include trying to recruit from the unrecognized Transnistria region of Moldova,” the ministry said. Earlier, the ministry on Saturday said that the withdrawal of Russia from northern Ukraine has left the evidence of disproportionate targeting of people, mass graves’ presence, use of civilians as human shields and mining of their infrastructure.

“Russia’s departure from northern Ukraine leaves evidence of the disproportionate targeting of non-combatants including the presence of mass graves, the fatal use of hostages as human shields, and mining of civilian infrastructure,” it tweeted. The ministry also said that Russia continued to use explosives in Ukraine and restricted the freedom of movement. “Russian forces continue to use IEDs to inflict casualties, lower morale, and restrict Ukrainian freedom of movement. Russian forces also continue to attack infrastructure targets with a high risk of collateral harm to civilians, including a nitrate acid tank at Rubizhne,” it said The ongoing conflict between the two nation started on February 24 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.