Newly-mobilised Russian conscripts filmed themselves picking up their equipment to fight in Ukraine, which included rusty guns and no body armour. Videos shared on social media showed the Russians trying to clean the guns, some of which don’t appear to work. This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ‘partial mobilisation’ of 300,000 troops this week.
The footage, captured in the far-eastern province of Primorye, sparked widespread ridicule of the state of the Russian military.
The Daily Beast’s Julia Davis shared the clip captured in the far-eastern province of Primorye.
It quickly sparked widespread ridicule of the state of the Russian military.
Twitter user @gummibear737 joked: “Give em some tetanus boosters and WD-40 and they’re ready for the front.”
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@JensKrabbe1 added: “Scraping the bottom of the barrels of weapons as well as military personnel. That’ll work out well – for Ukraine.”
The footage of Russians preparing to be sent to the frontline in Ukraine is the latest in a series of similarly chaotic clips.
On Friday, videos showed drunken Russian conscripts staggering, fighting, and falling asleep ahead of their deployment.
One clip, shared by BBC reporters, saw a drunken man staggering on the tarmac of an airport before he goes on what is believed to be a mobilisation flight.