The gurdian news
The army has nothing’: new Russian conscripts bemoan lack of supplies
Relatives purchase armour and clothing for soldiers on frontline due to theft, corruption and poor logistics
Pjotr Sauer
Thu 20 Oct 2022 20.01 BST
When her recently mobilised brother Vladimir rang from the frontline last week, Olesya Shishkanova recorded the phone call – and with it, a litany of complaints.
“They gave us absolutely no equipment. The army has nothing, we had to buy all our gear ourselves,” complained Vladimir, 23, who was conscripted as part of
Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation earlier this month.
“I even had to paint my gun to cover the rust. It is a nightmare ... Soon they’ll make us buy our own grenades,” he added in the call that Shishkanova recorded and
uploaded on her page on the Russian social media site VK.

‘It’s a 100% mobilisation’: day one of Russia’s drive to build its army
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Vladimir’s story is far from unique. Across the country, newly mobilised men are buying up everything from thermal underwear to body armour as more evidence emerges that Russia’s undersupplied army has not been able to provide them with even the basics when they arrive at the front.