A group of conscripts from Russia’s Kemerovo region recorded a video complaining about the lack of military supplies.
A man who described himself as a combat training instructor for the 247th Airborne Assault Regiment appealed to Kemerovo Gov. Sergei Tsivilyov to provide them with medical supplies, thermal underwear and other protective equipment.
The instructor described the mobilized Russian troops as “practically naked” in the Telegram post, according to a translation provided by the Russian news outlet The Insider.
“Sergei Evgenievich, your fighters that you sent to us in the Stavropol region… are practically naked… All they have in their medical kits is one tourniquet from, two pieces of body armor as protection, practically nothing, their sides are all open, no thermal underwear, nothing,” the instructor said in the video, addressing the governor. “We’re waiting for your feedback.”
Some Russian volunteers have attempted to cover the mobilized soldiers’ basic needs, including medicine, clothing and food, The Insider reported.
Charity events were reportedly held throughout Russia to create basic supplies for the soldiers.
While many Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, hope that the winter helps their forces reorganize and grinds the war against Ukraine to a halt, their soldiers on the frontlines are fighting a new enemy: freezing temperatures.
Some Russian soldiers allegedly died of hypothermia because of inadequate winter gear and clothing, Fox News Digital reported.
Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital that the modern Russian military uniform “is not optimized for freezing temperatures” like the Soviet-era uniform.
Koffler said the rebranding of the Russian military uniform in 1994 “prioritized style and low cost rather than pragmatism and functionality.”
But Russia may soon provide new military equipment and clothing to its soldiers as it allegedly outsourced its production of military equipment and clothing to China.
The Guardian reported that the Russian An-124 transport aircraft went to China nine times last month. Orysia Lutsevych of the Chatham House think tank said the Russian planes may have “contained winter clothing for troops.”
Meanwhile, some Western countries have pledged to provide winter clothing for the Ukrainian military as Russia’s military offensive drags on to its 10th month.
Canada pledged 500,000 pieces of winter clothing. Germany would send 100,000 warm jackets, while the United Kingdom pledged to provide 25,000 complete sets of winter clothing.
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