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Russia is sending its newly mobilized recruits off to war without any training, a supposed draftee has said.
In a video published by the human rights group Perviy Otdel Tuesday, an unnamed Russian man who was supposedly among those called in for military service said he and his fellow recruits will go to Ukraine this week with “nothing at all.” International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.
“Hello, everyone, this is the 1st Armor Regiment speaking. We’ve been told officially that we’ll go to the combat zone without training. The commander of the regiment has confirmed it. We’re off to Kherson on Sept. 29,” the man said in the video, according to a translation provided by independent Russian investigative outlet The Insider.
“Think for yourselves. Make of it what you wish. No target practice, no theory – nothing at all,” he added.
Mediazona previously reported on a similar case where a 45-year-old Russian man was sent to Ukraine’s Donbas region after going through a single day of training.
In addition to not being given training and exercises, Russian draftees also do not go through any medical examinations, Perviy Otdel alleged.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced mobilization on Sept. 21, the first such initiative in Russia since World War II.
The “partial mobilization” sought to call in 300,000 reservists, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
However, an unnamed source close to one of Russia’s federal ministries told Meduza that Russia may call in up to 1.2 million conscripts.
The official decree that enacted the mobilization does not limit conscription to reservists.
Those who previously served in Russia’s Armed Forces or have certain military specialties and relevant experience will be subject to conscription, Putin said during his televised address.
While Russia boasts of having a reserve of more than two million former conscripts and contract servicemen on paper, only up to 5,000 could be considered an active reserve in the Western sense, according to a 2019 analysis.
Historically, fewer than 10% of Russia’s conscripted soldiers receive refresher training in the years after they complete their military service, the Institute for the Study of War said.
“Russia lacks the administrative and financial capacity to train reservists on an ongoing basis,” the U.S.-based think tank said.
Putin’s announcement was followed by an exodus of Russians to neighboring countries, including Belarus, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
Around 261,000 men left Russia after Putin announced mobilization, Novaya Gazeta reported Monday, citing a Kremlin source.
Russia may lose more than 10% of its men aged between 20 and 29 as a result of losses in the invasion of Ukraine and emigration, according to economists Oleg Itskhoki and Maxim Mironov.
U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl previously estimated that Russia has lost up to 80,000 men in the ongoing conflict.
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