By Chris King • Published: 03 Dec 2022 • 2:43
Image of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Credit: Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com.
According to Andrei Marochko, an officer of the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Ukrainian servicemen began deserting in large numbers following Ursula von der Leyen’s statement about the huge number of losses incurred by the Ukrainian military in the last nine months.
Marochko was allegedly referring to intelligence data that had been collected since the head of the European Commission’s statement last November 30, as reported by tass.ru on Friday, December 2.
He claimed that the announcement about such large Ukrainian losses during the conflict with Russia had an extremely negative impact on the morale and psychological state of the Ukrainian troops.
“The number of sabotages, unauthorised abandonment of positions in the zone of the special operation, bickering with the command and hazing has increased”, Marochko insisted.
“The use of drugs and alcohol has also increased. There is also a sharp increase in social tension in Ukrainian society”, he continued. According to him, relatives of the Ukrainian military, despite the threat of arrest, began to ‘storm’ the military registration and enlistment offices in their cities.
On the morning of November 30, Von der Leyen issued a statement in which she announced that the losses of the Ukrainian army “amounted to over 100 thousand soldiers killed”. However, after some time, this phrase was removed from her written statement.
A video containing her message also disappeared from the European Commission head’s Twitter profile, which was reposted, but minus the fragment indicating Kyiv’s military losses.
___________________________________________________________
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.