In the Samara region of Russia, new recruits are trained by instructors of the local branch of the airsoft federation, reports Meduza.
The information, first reported by another Russian investigative site, Mediazona, was confirmed by Airsoft Federation head Anton Ptytsykin, who said airsoft players began training recruits in October, shortly after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization decree in Russia.
Pitsykin also reported that since that time, 600 people have been trained, including servicemen of the 15th separate motorized infantry brigade “Alexandria” and the Cossack battalion “Yermak”. A Russian official said airsoft instructors plan to train the same number of recruits in the next two to three weeks.
Ptichikin claims that new recruits are trained by instructors who took part in “combat operations in Ukraine”, and those mobilized after September 21 use not only airsoft weapons, but also regular Russian army weapons with hollow cartridges.
The head of the airsoft federation says that Russian recruits are in safe hands
According to the head of the Russian Federation, the mobilized are trained in tactics, providing first aid, evacuating comrades under enemy fire, setting up positions, fighting in rough terrain and in urban conditions, as well as actions under mortar fire.
Ptytsykin emphasized that the exercises are conducted at the initiative of the federation, not the army.
“We felt it was our duty not to stand aside and not just accelerate, but rather increase the amount of skills and knowledge that are given to our guys,” he declares.
His comments came after numerous videos surfaced on Russian social media of Russian recruits complaining about the equipment they receive, the conditions in their barracks and the training they receive.
On October 28, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the official end of the partial mobilization, but later the Kremlin refused to sign a decree on its official registration.
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