Russian conscripts are in a border region revolt after being treated like “cattle” as they as they go to the war in Ukraine.
Rookie soldiers have moaned that they been "no training" as they travel to the frontline.
A video shows the men publicly complaining about their treatment in “brutal, absolutely appalling conditions” after they were mobilised by Vladimir Putin.
The shocking footage is the latest evidence of the total chaos over the Russian call-up of reservists that has led even Kremlin cheerleaders in despair.
But it also highlights the rising dissent by the reluctant fighters who have been forced by Putin into battle against Ukraine.
The desperate recruits risk punishment by venting their fury over their plight after arriving by train in Belgorod region which borders Ukraine.
One of the soldiers acting as a spokesman for the miserable men said: “There are about 500 of us, all armed. Yet we are not registered to any military unit.
“We spent a week in brutal, absolutely appalling conditions. We had no provisions, no money - nothing at all.
“We have no clue who is going where, which military unit. Our weapons are not registered to us.
“Not a single machine gun is registered with a military ID….[against the Russian criminal code]
“The attitude from the officers is to treat us as cattle. No-one needs us, there is zero training. We eat what we buy ourselves.
“We spent an awful amount of money just to get food.”
The soldier continued to mock the weapons which the forces have been given and the ammunition which they had been issued with.
He added: “And don’t even start us about the ammunition. This is the ammunition they’ve given us. It was found lying on the ground of the military unit.”
A military source quoted by state media RIA Novosti claimed the men were not moving directly to the war, but to training, and denied there were any problems.
He said: “The issued small arms are assigned to the personnel and accounted for.
“The soldiers are provided with individual rations en-route to the training area, and medical personnel are part of the team.”
The Mirror reported on Tuesday how thousands of Russian troops fled eastern and southern frontlines in Ukraine, leaving dead comrades lying in the streets of one key city.
Horrific evidence of the battle for Lyman, in the east, was left as Moscow’s forces were driven back by dozens of miles by Kyiv’s counter-offensive.
Victories along the front have liberated Ukrainian communities and President Zelensky declared negotiations with Russian despot Vladimir Putin “impossible”.
There have been calls for UN-regulated polls on the future of four annexed Ukrainian territories were branded “moral idiocy.”
Even as their troops retreated, with 25,000 under threat of being cut-off, Russian officials rubber-stamped the annexation of Ukrainian regions.
