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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu visited training grounds in the western Ryazan Region on Thursday, to witness first hand the preparation of mobilized troops.
Putin and Shoigu were shown standard equipment issued to the conscripts, including uniforms, helmets and body armor, as well as the army-issued autumn and winter boots.
“The main thing, is that it’s actually there,” Putin said when some military officials showed him the soldiers’ footwear, in an apparent reference to the assorted equipment shortcomings emerging amid the ongoing partial mobilization.
Last week, the Russian president lamented the “stupidity” exhibited by some officials during the mobilization drive and admitted that, had Moscow not declared the partial mobilization, “we would never have seen those problems that have accumulated there, apparently for quite a while.”
Putin and his defense minister also met draftees and visited a shooting range at the training grounds. Putin took a few shots with a Dragunov (SVD) sniper rifle, footage from the scene shows.
This has meme potential up the wazzooo. Putin visiting a training center for mobilized pic.twitter.com/UQXUHmIknB
— Ghost (@mdfzeh) October 20, 2022