The Telegraph: Russia Uses Conscripts As Cannon Fodder

Many of them studied for only a few days.

In its attempts to stop the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region, the Kremlin is transferring soldiers from the front to this region, as well as young recruits with superficial training, a small amount of heavy vehicles and questionable leadership.

According to The Telegraph, such "reinforcements" do not last long in battle. Every year in the Russian Federation, men aged 18 to 30 are called up for military service. Last year, 130,000 people got into the army this way – this is about a tenth of the Russian military force, according to various sources.

“So far, the Kremlin has tried to recruit as many representatives of non-Russian ethnic groups as possible – often looking in other countries, even African. They also widely used prisoners and recruited Russian volunteers from poor regions. Young ethnic Russians, especially from central and more affluent areas, were not sent into combat," the newspaper notes.

A year of conscript service is not enough to train a conscript. For example, US Army infantry recruits undergo 22 weeks of training before being assessed as ready to join a combat unit, and in some US Army specialties, initial training lasts more than a year.

Some of the young Russians who were captured in the Kursk region admitted that they went through only a few days of training and fired only a few rounds of ammunition before they were sent to the battlefield.

The conscripts are at best a minor obstacle to the advancement of the AFU. Their death in battle against strong and well-equipped Ukrainian brigades will probably not save the Kursk region from possible capture, but it allows the occupiers to continue their offensive in Ukraine.

At the same time, it is noted that the problem is not only in the loss of the territories of the Kursk region – the loss of conscripts has greatly affected Russian society. Until August 6, the Kremlin's policy was such that conscripts are attracted only to auxiliary work, and not for combat.

“The invasion of Kursk exposed this policy for what it has always been: a farce. Forced to choose between the lives of untrained young people and their ambitions for further achievements in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin chose these achievements. The Russians are unhappy. There were scattered public protests – something that you rarely see in authoritarian Russia. It is unclear how bad the political consequences could be for Putin and his regime," the newspaper notes.

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