A video shared on social media on Sunday purports to show the “grim” conditions facing Russian soldiers newly enlisted to fight in Ukraine.
The video was shared on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
In it, an unknown man who was recently drafted into the Russian army claims to face extremely poor conditions in a camp, with rampant theft and disease.
“Meanwhile in Russia: Take a look at how newly mobilized recruits are being treated,” Davis wrote alongside the video. “An unnamed man complains that his shoes, money and mattress were stolen. He says, that’s right. Everyone got sick because they are barely heating their tents. Gloomy”.
In the 90-second clip, the unseen and unidentified soldier offers a first-person look at the camp he’s been sent to and shows himself wearing nothing but socks while outside.
Khanty-Maniysk is a city in west-central Russia and the administrative center of the Khanty-Mansi region.
It is located along the banks of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. The soldier eventually enters a tent that he claims is his living quarters, along with several other men.
He notes that, although the tent is large enough to house several people, it only has one stove to provide warmth. The man further claims that mattresses were stolen from his tent, describing the theft as the only “way to survive here”.
He also had his personal belongings stolen, such as sneakers and money.
Despite this alleged rampant theft, superior officers seem to have no interest in helping.
Reports of disorder and chaos in the military ranks have been present in Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to aid the effort in Ukraine, the country’s first since World War II.