Russian troops’ tendency to talk on unsecured lines is proving costly

Russian troops in Ukraine have relied, with surprising frequency, on unsecured communication devices such as smartphones and push-to-talk radios, leaving units vulnerable to targeting, and further underscoring the command-and-control deficiencies that have come to define Moscow’s month-long invasion, observers say.

“We’re seeing them use a lot more unclassified communications because their classified communications capability … for one reason or another, is not as strong as it should be,” a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, told reporters in a recent news briefing.