What is Putin's latest major issue for the Russian military in the Ukraine conflict?

Putin's hastily recruited draftees are expressing dissatisfaction as inadequate training before a hurried deployment. Will it end up being a disaster for Russia? 😫🗺⚒

• Recent developments in Russia's war on Ukraine have shown what can happen when hasty mobilization into a hostile area of conflict is coupled with inadequate training. Although Putin's partial mobilization is now allegedly finished, serious issues are already emerging. Today, we'll discuss the value of military training and the disastrous consequences that can occur for a nation like Russia when militaries disregard the importance of indoctrinating their new recruits. So, where did it all go wrong for Russia? On September 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the first partial mobilization of Russian conscripts since World War II. A string of devastating Ukrainian counteroffensives that started in early September and ended with the presidential decree in the area of the Kharkiv Oblast In addition to liberating thousands of kilometers of Ukrainian territory, the attacks also severely mauled Russian forces that had been retreating with massive quantities of tanks, artillery, weapons, and ammunition.
• The turnabout put an end to a depressing, if not outright disastrous, phase of Russia's campaign in Ukraine, one that left morale, manpower, and motivation at an all-time low. One commentator observed that the confirmed losses of destroyed and abandoned tanks and other armor alone exceed the entire army of a respectably sized Central or Eastern European country, and the rate of loss doesn't appear likely to slow down any time soon. The figures are shocking: in a little more than eight months, Russia has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 90,000 irreparably wounded, lost, or killed soldiers—a total that now exceeds the number of casualties the Soviet Union suffered during its nine years of brutal, bloody combat in Afghanistan, between 1979 and 1989.
• In fact, Putin lost more soldiers in a week than the US lost in Afghanistan over a 20-year period. But instead of changing course, the Kremlin has intensified its efforts to continue these failures. They are enacting harsher penalties for soldiers who desert or surrender and moving forward with the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, as Michael Kofman, Director of Russian Studies at the Center for Naval Analysis has noted. But the person who most directly caused chaos in a nation that had so far been shielded from many of the realities of the conflict was Putin, who issued a call for mobilization. Many draftees who were of military age did everything in their power to avoid being called up, escaping on trains, planes, and, when that failed, on bicycles, scooters, and even on foot.
• Mile-long traffic jams were seen at Russia's borders with Georgia, Finland, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, among other countries, according to satellite images and social media posts. The number of cars and bicycles left behind was in the thousands. Images of protesters who were forcibly suppressed in Russia, some of whom were also drafted into the military, were all over social media as Russian officials delivered draft notices door to door throughout the nation. Nobody is allowed to criticize Putin's special military operation because of the draconian laws in place. Men of draft age were sought out by enlistment officers throughout the nation. Men who qualify for conscription in Russia must receive a draft notice in person.
• As you might expect, evasion tactics served as the foundation for the ingenuity of many Russian men, such as moving into summer cabins or going on indefinite camping trips in the countryside. Others turned off their doorbells to prevent being disturbed by enlistment officers. Some people went so far as to intentionally hurt themselves to get a medical exemption. Unlucky people were forced into an uncertain military future because they were unable to leave their homes due to financial constraints, elderly parents, or mortgages. The range of drafted personnel includes 17-year-olds without combat experience, convicted felons, and middle-aged men with diabetes and brain disorders.
• Despite the fact that Putin's draft specifically requested reservists with military experience, there is little consideration for health, expertise, or background. If the dozens of anecdotal Telegram videos are to be believed, these new recruits have unavoidably been labeled as "cannon fodder," which is a common refrain among the men themselves. A jaded Russian military blogger lamented the impending mobilization: "Zinc coffins are already coming." You assured us that they would receive training and not be deployed to the front lines within a week. Were you lying again? This outcome was expected by western observers. In summarizing the likely effects of mobilization, Michael Kofman of the CNA emphasized that the haphazard replacement system currently in place has long caused havoc on the Russian war effort.
• The Russian military has experienced structural manpower deficits throughout the war, causing issues with recruitment, retention, and rotation. Hiring temporary volunteers made retention problems worse because units couldn't be rotated. The Russian military has been steadily cannibalizing itself by diverting officers, supplies, and enlisted personnel to reserve and volunteer units as a result of piecemeal solutions. As a result, over time, morale and retention fatigue decreased, as did force quality. Therefore, Putin's mobilization is the logical outcome of a situation that ought to have been resolved by the beginning of last summer. Russia's top priority is to reduce the rate of casualties due to combat attrition and temporary volunteer contracts.
• But what about those who do not want to serve in Putin's army? As of right now, Russian conscripts are no longer allowed to refuse deployment, which is punishable by a minimum fine of 3,000 rubles and a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Volunteers who initially went to Ukraine for a brief (4-6 months) tour have now had their service extended for the duration of the mobilization period. Those who have completed their regular conscription service are actively pressured to sign up for another contract. The conclusion of Russia's partial mobilization was officially announced on November 1 by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Millions of draft dodgers are still wary.
• One Russian man in his twenty-seventies told a reporter, "I don't trust what they say; the rules are just not followed." Although Sergei Shoygu, Putin's defense minister, claimed that their mobilization objectives had been achieved, the Institute for the Study of War estimates that Russia is still secretly issuing mobilization orders throughout the nation. Some estimate that the total number of draft dodgers may reach 700,000. Why is this all so concerning? The truth is that conscription is only the first step in what is typically a long and difficult path to serving in the military. Draftees typically start their military careers in basic training, which gives soldiers the fundamental knowledge and abilities they need to deal with conflict in its most generalized form.
• Many people go on to enroll in a number of specialized courses if they have a special role to play. The vast machine that is military effectiveness, however, only has one cog: training. How a military recruits, billets, trains, nourishes, outfits, and deploys its troops is what's known as "throughput." And as we've seen, Russian throughput has been found wanting—something that can add up to bad consequences and ultimately herald disaster when poorly equipped soldiers enter the fray. Reports of Russia's haphazard training infrastructure should worry the Kremlin greatly. The things that many conscripts encountered during basic training did little to instill confidence because many of them were already afraid of being deployed before they arrived.
• In the past, Russian law required that conscripts complete at least four months of training before engaging in combat. Anyone who signs a contract with the Russian army is reportedly required to complete a rigorous four-week combined arms training and survival course, according to the website of the Russian Defense Ministry. The course lasts for 240 hours and covers military tactics, shooting, and grenade throwing. Russia previously set these standards, but they are no longer followed. Amazingly, there seems to be no uniform training program in place at all for such a massive mobilization in such a crucial conflict. In fact, reports frequently surface of conscripts being sent to the front within days of enlisting, raising alarm bells around the world.
• According to a military analyst who is independent of the military, a week of training is nothing for a soldier because it is a quick route to a hospital or a body bag. An additional director of a human rights group in Russia claimed that he frequently received calls from parents whose children had signed military contracts but ended up in Ukraine only a week later.