Russian soldier loses it in leaked call as he slams ‘defective tanks’

A Kremlin soldier operating in the Donetsk region has unmasked the provision of faulty Russian military equipment to battalions on the frontline in Ukraine. The soldier alleged the tanks given to Russia’s fighting forces ‘stall every 50 metres’ and are ‘not working’. Additionally, the Russian soldier criticised the Kremlin military leadership and claimed serving troops had not been given the opportunity to contact relatives or to stop and collect the bodies of their dead comrades.In a heated conversation with his wife, the Russian soldier begged: ‘Write to the Ministry of Defence, to the prosecution, that the tanks are defective.’He continued: ‘They are sending us to the very frontline, today they sent us to start an advance.’Our tanks are not working, they stall every 50 metres, for f***s sake – we can’t do anything about it. ‘They’re sending the boys to slaughter, who are falling down in the fields, the corpses – and no one allows us to pick our soldiers up, can you imagine?’ A serving Russian soldier has exposed the poor state of equipment provided to the Kremlin military (Image: GETTY) A vast quantity of Russian military vehicles have been destroyed in the conflict (Image: GETTY)The soldier’s claims of Russian military vehicles operating in such a poor state is especially concerning given he is stationed in Donetsk.The Ukrainian counter-offensive has advanced in the east of the country through Kharkiv and is steadily making progress with the aim of liberating both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Donbas.Continuing his tirade against the Kremlin, the soldier described his military leaders as ‘scumbags’ and claimed troops were not allowed to call their relatives.He pleaded with his wife to make the Ministry of Defence ‘do something’ before signalling his desperation by adding ‘our hands are tied’.The recorded conversation emerged after concerns were raised as to how the Kremlin planned to arm the 300,000 additional men called up for service under President Putin’s partial mobilisation decree.Read more: Putin to battle for own survival as Russia heads towards defeat The advancing Ukrainian counter-offensive operation has placed pressure on the Russian military (Image: GETTY) President Putin ordered the mobilisation of a further 300,000 troops for the frontlines in Ukraine (Image: GETTY)The destruction of the Kerch Bridge in an explosion earlier this month added to pre-existing strains on Russian military supplies in Ukraine.Ahead of the explosion, intelligence reports from within Ukraine had already recorded Russian military units operating with poorly maintained Soviet-era equipment in drastically undermanned battalions.Following the explosion, the UK Ministry of Defence reported logistical issues concerning Russian resupply efforts had likely become ‘more acute’ due to the reduced capacity of the key transport route to annexed Crimea.On Monday, Russian officials reported an anti-war campaign group, Stop the Wagons, had sabotaged a railway which serves as the main rail link between Russia and southern Belarus. A report from the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed the Kremlin had heavily relied on the rail transport network for the deployment of forces to Ukraine and continued travel disruption was likely to further complicate the invasion effort.Don’t miss: Putin ally ‘sees himself as successor’ in major threat to despot  [INSIGHT]Russia faces ‘heaviest battle’ as Ukraine mounts key counter-offensive [ANALYSIS]Radical Democrats withdraw ‘unfortunate’ Ukraine letter to Joe Biden [REVEAL] Ukrainian forces have captured and repurposed Russian military gear for their own operations (Image: GETTY)As Russian troops have come under increasing pressure from the well-coordinated Ukrainian counter-offensive operation, Kremlin soldiers have been forced to withdraw from occupied territories.The hasty retreat has meant Moscow’s military has abandoned huge stockpiles of Russian equipment that has now been seized and repurposed by Kyiv’s army. Russian equipment is now reported to make up a large fraction of Ukraine’s active military hardware while Moscow struggles to replenish its own supplies. An intelligence report from the UK Government claimed: ‘Over half of Ukraine’s currently fielded tank fleet potentially consists of captured vehicles.’The report added: ‘The failure of Russian crews to destroy intact equipment before withdrawing or surrendering highlights their poor state of training and low levels of battle discipline.’Read next: Russia’s economy will ‘die by winter’ as Putin now at ‘final countdown’Russians force evacuation as Ukrainian troops on verge of taking cityUkraine issues new dirty bomb warning amid Zaporizhzhia nuclear fearsRishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky vow to crush ‘Putin’s barbaric r…Putin warned of ‘Kremlin power struggle’ as military tensions soar