Russian mobilization will end in weeks as conscripts have 'very limited training'

Western official says Russian conscripts have 'very, very limited training' and use 'poor equipment' as Vladimir Putin's forces continue to suffer heavy losses in Ukraine

Newly mobilized Russian reservists train on a firing range in the Donetsk region (

Image: Reuters)

The new Russian draftees have received "very, very limited training" and will be using extremely "poor" equipment, a Western official said, after Vladimir Putin said the call-up for reservists would be over in two weeks.

Hundreds of thousands of Russian men were summoned to fight in Ukraine in an unpopular mobilization that saw large numbers flee the country.

Putin ordered the mobilization three weeks ago, as part of a response to Russian defeats on the battlefield. He also proclaimed the annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces and threatened to use nuclear weapons if Russian territory was attacked.

Russia has since seen the first signs of significant public criticism of the authorities since the start of the war, and officials have acknowledged some mistakes.

Members of ethnic minorities and rural dwellers have complained of being recruited at higher rates than ethnic Russians and city dwellers.

A Western official said the newly enlisted Russian soldiers had very limited training (

Picture:

REUTERS)

Defending order, Putin said the front line was too long to be defended with contract soldiers alone.

He said that 222,000 of the expected 300,000 reservists had already been mobilized. "This work is coming to an end," he told a press conference after a summit in Kazakhstan. "I think in about two weeks all mobilization activities will be completed."

Since...