Rusty AKs and plastic bags: video to show how Russia equips new recruits

Created: 09/27/2022, 09:41 am

Partial mobilization failures are not currently Putin's only problem.

A video is said to show that new recruits are given rusty machine guns.

Do they go into battle with that?

Moscow - A few days after the partial mobilization in the Ukraine war, criticism increased even from official bodies in Russia.

But even if Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin were to succeed in bringing enough Russian forces onto the battlefield, weapons could be lacking.

This is indicated by a video that shows what material the new soldiers are apparently given.

Rusty Kalashnikovs and plastic bags: is this how the new recruits go to war?

Partial mobilization in Russia: Russian soldiers prepare to join the People's Militia of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian People's Republic of Luhansk.

© Stanislav Krasilnikov / ITAR-TASS / Imago

Western military experts are critical of the partial mobilization's chances of success.

The US war researchers of the

for example, found that Russia recruits men who do not meet the criteria set by the Kremlin.

Moscow itself admitted “mistakes” for the first time on Monday.

"Indeed, there were cases when the decree was violated," admitted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Cases had previously been reported on social networks in which men without combat experience were drafted - or Russian reservists had to go to the front immediately after being called up.

The lack of training for Russian soldiers is now making high losses in the attack on Ukraine likely, the British secret service wrote on Twitter on Monday.

But apparently that's not Putin's only problem.

Advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, Anton Herashchenko, shared a video on Twitter on Saturday purporting to show the Russian army's poor equipment.

As a result, the new soldiers are handed some rusty weapons and plastic bags.

They are told that this is for the "memory of the hands," the consultant wrote on Twitter, probably alluding to muscle memory.

Accordingly, the rusty AK-47s could only be “placeholders” for the training period.

Herashchenko says he doesn't think so.

"I assume that they will attack with it," said the Ukrainian adviser.

However, this could not be verified independently.

Are there enough weapons for the 300,000 mobilized reservists?

Another video shared by Ukrainian adviser Herashchenko shows Russian soldiers removing old Soviet tanks from a storage facility - apparently the T-62 models, which are around 50 years old.

"The T-62s are certainly particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia's lack of modern, combat-ready equipment," the British Ministry of Defense wrote about this model back in May.

Putin's army is apparently weakened.

According to its own general staff, Ukraine has destroyed 260 Russian aircraft since the beginning of the war, as well as 2,290 tanks, 224 helicopters, 4,857 armored personnel carriers, 1,369 artillery units and 970 unmanned drones.

The war researchers of the

announced earlier this week that Russia had lost 50 to 90 percent of its strength and many tanks in some units as a result of Ukraine's counter-offensive.

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In view of the defeats of the Russian army in Ukraine, 300,000 men are now to be mobilized - about as many as are currently fighting on the battlefields on the Russian side.

They all need guns.

"The Russian military is currently unable to deploy 300,000 reservists quickly and effectively," Europe and Eurasia expert Alex Lord told US broadcaster CNN on Thursday.

Moscow is already struggling to effectively equip its armed forces in Ukraine after suffering significant casualties, the expert added.

Most recently, Putin apparently bought ammunition from Iran and North Korea, and Iranian combat drones are said to have gone to Russia.

Experts warn that things could become particularly dangerous for the West if things go badly for the Kremlin boss.