4 commanders, a deputy commander and nearly a dozen soldiers from 4 Ukrainian brigades told the Financial Times that the new conscripts lack basic combat skills, motivation and often abandon their positions when they come under fire. The commanders estimated that 50 to 70 per cent of new infantry troops were killed or wounded within days of starting their first rotation - journos write.

The intelligence assessment describes a range of possible Russian responses to a decision to allow long-range strikes using U.S. and European-supplied missiles — from stepped up acts of arson and sabotage targeting facilities in Europe, to potentially lethal attacks on U.S. and European military bases.

Moreover, after the first strikes, they said, the Russians will likely relocate ammunition depots, command posts, attack helicopters and other vital battlefield functions out of range of the missiles - NYT claims in article above.