Russian soldiers are increasingly complaining about poor or missing equipment. President Vladimir Putin therefore wants to have more control over the financial flows for army spending in the future. This is also intended to prevent corruption and the misappropriation of budget funds.
In the face of numerous reports that Russian soldiers were inadequately equipped for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin wants the financial flows for army spending to be tightened. According to a task list published by the Kremlin, the government must present proposals for better spending control and the targeted use of budget funds for the “special military operation” in Ukraine by Friday.
In order to improve the quality of the equipment, a kind of direct line is to be established between the units deployed in Ukraine and the manufacturers of armaments. This is apparently also intended to prevent corruption and the misappropriation of budget funds for arming the army. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than eight months, in which tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are said to have been killed. During a visit to a military training area near Moscow three weeks ago, Putin demonstratively checked the fighters’ equipment.
There are numerous reports in Russian independent media from draftees who complain about poor and missing equipment. Sometimes there aren’t even helmets or weapons. Recruits used their own money to buy sleeping bags, medicine or even army boots for the winter. Again and again women turn to the public in video messages with appeals that the reservists should be better cared for and protected.
Politicians and governors had also expressed their dismay. Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev, a member of the Defense Committee, reported that one and a half million sets of personal equipment had disappeared and nobody explained it. Governors are now buying binoculars and night vision devices for the draftees themselves, bypassing the Defense Ministry’s budget.
