Russian troops are shooting down their own drones and passing them off as war booty
There have been reports within the Russian military of soldiers shooting down their own drones and then attempting to pass them off as Ukrainian drones in order to claim a reward.
Pro-Russian bloggers themselves are reporting such situations.
According to them, the problem stems from poor coordination between units: mobile fire teams often do not receive information about their own drones’ flights and cannot always distinguish them from enemy ones, so they open fire on all targets in the air.
Pro-Russian public groups warn that the situation could worsen, and nearly all Russian drones risk coming under fire. At the same time, it is reported that some military personnel are already displaying downed drones as “trophies” and receiving awards for doing so, even though these are actually their own equipment. To convince their superiors, Ukrainian symbols are sometimes painted on the wreckage.
Russia has lost another 810 soldiers and 26 artillery systems in the war against Ukraine.
Since the start of the day, Russian troops have attacked the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces 62 times.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi instructed group commanders and corps commanders stationed on the front lines to conduct an inspection of military logistics by May 20.
Military analysts report that Russian occupiers are advancing in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.
