It is believed that footage of the inspection of the training center southeast of Moscow was intended to contradict social media images of poorly maintained or nonexistent equipment for newly mobilized troops.
A photograph shows Russian President Vladimir Putin firing a sniper rifle at a reserve training facility.
It is believed that the inspection of the military boot camp in the Russian region of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, was intended to demonstrate progress in addressing issues with training and supplies.
Russian television showed him firing a gun while lying beneath a net on a field while wearing goggles and ear protection.
A military official displayed Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu soldiers armed with protective jackets and helmets.
The officer presented winter boots, clothing, cooking utensils, and other goods in response to social media posts depicting poorly maintained or nonexistent equipment for newly mobilized troops.
In response to Mr. Putin’s declaration of a “partial mobilization” of 300,000 military reservists, however, the flight from Russia continues, with individuals hurrying to escape to neighboring nations.
More than 3,000 Russians have called a hotline for soldiers who do not wish to participate in the battle and are requesting to surrender, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Mr. Putin increased Russia’s military readiness and declared martial law in four seized regions of Ukraine – Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhia – the day before he visited the training camp on Thursday.
It has been interpreted as an attempt to assert Russian authority in the seized territories in the face of battlefield failures, a difficult troop mobilization, growing domestic and international condemnation, and international sanctions.
Kherson city, with a pre-war population of approximately 284,000, was one of the first metropolitan centers conquered by Russia when it invaded Ukraine. Due to its critical industries and major river port, it remains a prominent target for both sides.
On Thursday, Russian officials reported that 15,000 of the estimated 60,000 people had fled the city in preparation for intensified attacks.
According to the Ukrainian military’s most recent report, up to 2,000 mobilized Russian troops have arrived in the occupied Kherson region to “replace casualties and reinforce formations.”
In the wake of Ukraine’s rapid recapture of massive swaths of land in recent weeks, the war has escalated, with the Russian leader accusing the West of “nuclear blackmail” and threatening to employ “all the means at our disposal” if Russian territory is endangered.
