In the early stages of the "Special Military Operation", the Ukrainian army discovered that many Russian troops, especially elite Russian troops from special forces and airborne troops, did not use distributed equipment, but purchased various commercial products at their own expense, including military boots, helmets, bulletproof vests, , etc. Soon, the reason why the Russian soldiers did this was understood: the equipment distributed was of poor quality, and the helmet could even be broken by a punch. These Russian soldiers from elite troops obviously had more knowledge about how to save their lives on the battlefield.
And with the beginning of some mobilization, Russia's military supplies sales soared, and the price of bulletproof vests even increased by more than 18 times compared with 2021. On the back of the recruitment notice distributed to the mobilized soldiers, the recruited persons were reminded to carry necessary thermal underwear and other sanitary supplies. The Russian Ministry of Defense gave a list, suggesting that the recruited persons carry camping seats, burner , flashlights, batteries and multi-function tools and other equipment.
Some military bloggers specifically reminded the conscripted person to bring a first aid kit: although the Russian army will also distribute first aid kit to soldiers, there are very few materials inside, which is simply not enough to deal with possible problems on the battlefield, and the quality is not as good as commercial products.
Russian Ministry of Defense only allows soldiers to carry old-fashioned button phones without cameras, and they will be confiscated when they go to the front line, but this does not prevent many "bad soldiers" from hiding their mobile phones secretly. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has released a series of pictures and videos, indicating that the Russian army's personal supplies are in short supply: winter is coming, but the Russian army on the front line has not received the distributed warm clothing, and many Russian soldiers are wearing a pair of Adidas sports pants in their military pants.
Analysts believe that given the Russian army's harsh logistics supply difficulties, in the upcoming winter, the Russian army is likely to experience a large number of frostbite and other non-combat reductions. It is hard to say whether the cold winter will freeze to death in Europe, but Russian soldiers will definitely feel the power of the "Winter General". Perhaps their feelings will not be like the Soviet army in the Winter War, but they will definitely not feel good.
In contrast, with the help of supporters, the Ukrainian military has stored enough winter equipment, and it is still increasing, with clothing, cold-proof shoes, tents, heating equipment and enough heat to ensure that the Ukrainian army minimizes non-combat reductions such as frostbite.
Many Russian troops who received the recruitment notice only prepared minimum amount of supplies according to the recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Defense, but more people frantically purchased possible supplies according to the online guidelines. Even many Russians who have not received the recruitment notice but meet the conditions have joined the rush to buy. From the westernmost Belgorod to the easternmost Krasnodar , the business of military stores is surprisingly good. In many military stores, even camouflage uniforms have been sold out.
When mobilizing troops into the army, the Russian army can only send them weapons, military uniforms, military boots and helmets. If you want to improve your survival rate as much as possible on the battlefield and live a more comfortable life, everything depends on yourself. These weapons that need to be purchased at their own expense will cost at least 25,000 rubles , but most people spent more than 100,000 rubles to buy more supplies, including backpacks, sleeping bags, moisture-proof mats and tents. Even the business of travel stores has become better, and the prices have increased by at least half. It should be noted that mobilizing soldiers to buy these equipment requires their own money, and don’t expect the army to reimburse you.
