Russia sends new untrained recruits directly to front line, investigation finds
Hundreds of conscripts from the Russian Federation went to Svatovo, Luhansk region (Photo:Command of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)
Russian conscripts mobilized in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast have been sent to the battlefield without any prior training, Russian investigative media outlet iStories reported on Sept. 28.
"Today early in the morning they went to Svatove (Luhansk Oblast), to the war zone," said the sister of a drafted soldier, Daria Shevkunova.
“Some of the guys left today, 179 people, and on Sept. 26 another 200 had left. My sister is in Belgorod, she says that there are a lot of such guys with trucks, they keep coming and coming.”
Her brother, Aleksandr Lazebny, 29, served in the army six years ago, and has no combat experience.
Lazebny received a draft notice on Sept. 22; on Sept. 23 he voluntarily went to the recruitment office. Despite Lazebny’s documented medical conditions, including spinal and leg issues, he was still drafted.
On Sept. 21, the Dept. One Telegram channel reported that Russian conscripts are not given any exercises, medical examinations, or training before being shipped off to the front.
One drafted soldier said that they were already being sent to Kherson, and they were officially denied training and preparation.
On Sept. 21, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” in Russia.
According to official data from the Russian Defense Ministry, the plan is to draft about 300,000 reservists. However, the part of the published decree ordering the mobilization dealing with the number of draftees is marked only “for official use,” and classified from public view.
According to Russian opposition media, the secret paragraph of the plan details the mobilization of around one million Russians for the war in Ukraine.
Military experts doubt that an influx of untrained and underequipped conscripts will be enough to change Russia’s declining fortunes in its full-scale war against Ukraine.
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