Endemic corruption hampering Russian military progress, says UK MoD

Many Russian reservists called up to fight in Ukraine are probably having to buy their own body armour – and its prices have soared, the latest British intelligence briefing says.

The UK Ministry of Defence also said in its daily update that “endemic corruption and poor logistics” remained a cause of Russia’s “poor performance” in Ukraine.

The ministry said the average amount of personal equipment Russia was providing to its mobilised reservists was “almost certainly lower than the already poor provision of previously deployed troops”.

It tweeted:

Many reservists are likely required to purchase their own body armour, especially the modern 6B45 vest, which is meant to be on general issue to combat units as part of the Ratnik personal equipment programme.

The ministry said the vest had been selling on Russian online shopping sites for 40,000 roubles (about US$640 or £570), up from about 12,000 roubles in April.

It said that in 2020 Russian authorities announced that 300,000 sets of the Ratnik armour had been supplied to its military – “ample to equip the force currently deployed in Ukraine”.