Concerned about dwindling troop numbers, Vladimir Putin recently ordered 137,000 soldiers to join the Russian armyat the beginning of 2023. The new recruits are training in a small village called Mulino, but it seems they're doing more than just working, according to a Wall Street Journal reportcited in Business Insider.
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‘Always drunk’
Russia is known for its vodka, and it's no secret that Russians love to drink it. It’s also no secret that some soldiers turn to substances to deal with the realities of war. According toForbes contributor, Melik Kaylan, the Russian soldiers he has encountered throughout his career were ‘always drunk’.
Kaylan recalls interviewing a Russian tank commander during the 2008 invasion of Georgia:
He was red-faced, slurry, and slow of speech…his men were all wobbly.
The current soldiers training to fight in Ukraine seem to bear a resemblance. Local residents of the training area have been complaining about the volunteer battalions in the 3rd Army Corps who are ‘walking around drunk from 11am’ and harassing them.
‘The whole village is suffering’
Mulino resident Ksenia Glotova took to Russian social media to express her disapproval that ‘the whole village is suffering’. Another resident by the name of Yekaterina Horoshavina said:
They say they're going to defend us, but based on what we've seen we won't be sleeping very calmly.
The undisciplined conduct of the 3rd Army Corps suggests that Putin’s attempt to bolster Russia’s army may be a losing battle. It’s now over 6 months into the Ukraine war, and 80,000 Russian soldiers are already thought to be injured or dead.
The complaints from Mulino come months after Russian soldiers reportedly stole rubbing alcoholfrom Borodianka’s mental health facility to drink and used human feces to write graffiti on the walls.
Read more:
⋙ Vladimir Putin visits injured Russian soldiers, rumours suggest they’re actors
⋙ Prisoner reveals horrific conditions of Russian prison camp
