Russia wants to call up hundreds of thousands of reservists within a very short time. However, the mobilization is chaotic, the newly drafted soldiers lack many things. According to the British secret service, they even have to buy their own protective vests. Their prices are skyrocketing.
According to British reports, reservists mobilized by Russia are being sent to the war against Ukraine with inadequate equipment. Contingents of Russian reservists have been deployed to Ukraine in the past two weeks, the British Ministry of Defense wrote in its intelligence update on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. “The average level of their personal gear is almost certainly lower than the already poor supply of previously deployed troops.”
Many reservists would probably have to buy their own body armor themselves, especially a modern type 6B45 body armor, which was actually supposed to be issued to combat troops in general as part of the Russian Ratnik equipment program. Their price has more than tripled in Russian online retail since April.
There have already been numerous reports in the past about the insufficient equipment of the Russian recruits. Many bought their own clothes, sleeping bags and sleeping mats.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 222,000 reservists have been called to arms so far. The planned number of 300,000 will be reached in around two weeks, he said at the end of a summit in the Kazakh city of Astana in Central Asia. Of the conscripts, 16,000 are already “in combat units”.
The Russian President also countered the fears of the population that a second wave of mobilization could already be planned. “There have been no proposals from the Department of Defense in this regard, and I don’t see any need for it in the foreseeable future.” Fearing mobilization, hundreds of thousands of Russians have already fled to neighboring countries in recent weeks.
