Troops are saying no to officers, knowing that punishment is light while Russia is not technically at war

When the soldiers of an elite Russian army brigade were told in early April to prepare for a second deployment to Ukraine, fear broke out among the ranks.

The unit, stationed in Russia’s far east during peacetime, first entered Ukraine from Belarus when the war started at the end of February and saw bitter combat with Ukrainian forces.

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The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reiterated his government’s position that there can be no renormalisation of relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters reports that asked on LBC radio whether Putin could be welcomed back on the global stage if he were to repent, Johnson said: “The short answer is no. No renormalisation and the UK is very clear about that.”

Overnight the Ukrainian defence ministry published photos of what it said were destroyed Russian tanks and other equipment in the village of Bilohorivka, that had been struck when the Russians were attempting to construct a pontoon-bridge over the Siverskyi Donets river. The general staff of the Ukraine armed forces published the pictures again this morning on Facebook.