- This has been revealed by the latest report released by British intelligence.
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| Russian recruits attend training at a shooting range near Donetsk, Ukraine. |
Many Russian reservists have to buy their own bulletproof vest to fight in Ukraine
The conditions in which Russian reservists called up to fight in the war in Ukraine are being sent appear to have worsened since the beginning of the conflict, to the point that they "probably" have to buy their own bulletproof vest, a situation that is leading to that its price has skyrocketed in the market, according to the latest British intelligence report released this Saturday by the Ministry of Defense.
As explained in a statement, the contingents of Russian reservists mobilized in Ukraine during the last two weeks have an average level of personal equipment "lower than the already scarce supply of troops previously deployed."
For this reason, "many reservists are likely to need to purchase their own body armor, especially the modern 6B45 vest." This model of the vest is part of the military uniform of Russian soldiers, so British intelligence foresees "a general problem for combat units," they point out.
The high demand has made the prices of this type of vest more expensive in a matter of a few months, and it is already being sold online for about 40,000 rubles (656 euros in exchange), compared to 12,000 rubles (197 euros) it costs in April, indicates the report of the British ministry.
According to the UK, "endemic corruption and poor logistics" remain one of the underlying causes of "Russia's poor performance in Ukraine".
As an example of this mismanagement, British intelligence has pointed out that in 2020, the Russian authorities announced the supply of 300,000 sets of Ratnik bulletproof vests to the Russian army, an amount that the United Kingdom sees as "enough" to equip the forces currently deployed in Ukraine.
Last September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists with whom he hoped to call up some 300,000 more people to fight in Ukraine. This Friday, the Russian president confirmed that the activities linked to this mobilization will conclude in two weeks.
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