Russia has hardly any soldiers left for the war

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Last fall, Russia drafted more than 300,000 soldiers into the army as part of a major partial mobilization. However, due to the costly attacks in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin is once again running out of fighters. That is why the recruitment offices are currently sending further messages and calling up conscripts at the military offices.

However, according to experts, it is unlikely that the Kremlin will again be able to send hundreds of thousands of well-trained men and women into battle. “Most of those who have previous military experience have already been mobilized,” security expert Gustav Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Berlin told the “world”. “That means you only get bare burgers,” the training effort increases.

In recent months, the Russian military has not learned how to interact with people in a way that conserves resources, Gressel explains. An example of this is the fighting in the city of Bakhmut, where thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives. Bachmut was even recently called the “meat grinder of war”.

New trick for more soldiers

Expert Gressel says that “enormously high losses have been suffered among specialists and officers” in recent months. This is partly due to the low leadership qualities in the Russian army – but also due to the ‘flagrant training errors’.

The Kremlin now wants to increase the size of the army. By the end of this year, the number of professional soldiers should be increased by 137,000. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (67) therefore resorts to his bag of tricks: everyone who has completed his one-year military service as a young Russian must immediately register as a professional soldier.

Expert Gressel doubts whether this will work. “You really have to force people. You know where it’s going,” says the security expert. In exchange for the risk of his life, there are high wages – the soldiers would earn more than 2,400 francs a month. As the Verstka news agency reports, referring to mentions in the Russian social network UK, there are now increasing complaints that wages are not being paid, including professional soldiers.(zis)

Source: Blick