As Russia begins sending hundreds of thousands of newly drafted troops to the battlefield in Ukraine, the military appears to be making no secret of the fact they don’t have enough supplies for all the fresh cannon fodder. Video published by Sirena News on Tuesday shows a staffer at a military base in Altai Krai barking at a crowd of draftees that they are responsible for acquiring their own first aid supplies. “Men, just don’t laugh, ask your wives, girlfriends or mothers for sanitary pads. The cheapest pads, plus the cheapest tampons. You know what the tampons are for? Just put them straight into bullet wounds…” she says, urging them to ask their relatives for money to purchase anything they need. The leaked footage prompted mockery on social media for the seemingly dysfunctional “partial mobilization,” but Vladimir Putin’s allies jumped to his defense. “You don’t need sanitary pads,” said United Russia lawmaker Dmitry Perminov, suggesting the video was “fake” and citing Putin’s promise that all draftees will be provided with everything they need.
