Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that Russian forces tested new ways to use missiles, troops and artillery in the special military operation in Ukraine.
Shoigu said, “During the special military operation, we tested new ways to use them in combat. First, it is the use of reconnaissance and strike systems, which include advanced and modern samples of weapons and drones,” according to the Associated Press.
He also added that more than “300,000 reservists learned in two months, including volunteers.”
He also added: “About 8,000 combat vehicles, tanks and personnel of artillery, air defense, unmanned aerial systems and electronic warfare systems have been trained in the training centers.”
About 80 thousand
The Russian president, Vladimir PutinOn Nov. 7, it was revealed that some 80,000 mobilized soldiers are in the special military operations area, including some 50,000 soldiers participating in combat operations in Ukraine.
He said: “Now we have about 50,000 soldiers in combat units. The rest have not yet participated in hostilities,” according to Russian media.
Russian soldiers in the vicinity of Kiev (Archives from the Associated Press)
As he added, “But there are up to 80,000 of them in the area (the Russian special military operations area). The rest are all in training camps.”
318 thousand
Interestingly, Putin announced on Nov. 4 that the flow of volunteers wishing to join the Russian armed forces is not declining, and the number of those mobilized has reached 318,000.
“We already have 318,000 (mobilized). Why 318,000? Because volunteers are coming. The number of volunteers is not decreasing,” he said.
Russian forces in Kherson (archived by the Associated Press)
He also clarified that of this number, there are 49,000 Army personnel performing combat missions, while the rest are still participating in training.
The partial mobilization decision, which took effect immediately on Sept. 21, is the first of its kind since the former Soviet Union was fighting Nazi Germany in World War II.
