ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Noted Russian nationalist says army has too few doctors

Share
MOSCOW -

One of Russia's most prominent nationalist politicians said the Russian military does not have an adequate number of doctors among other problems, a message he delivered in a meeting Saturday with the mothers of soldiers mobilized for the fight in Ukraine.

The comments by Leonid Slutsky, leader of the populist Liberal Democratic Party and chairman of the foreign relations committee in the lower house of parliament, was an unusually public admission of problems within the military as Russian forces suffer a series of battlefield setbacks.

"There are not enough doctors in the military units; everyone says this. I cannot say they do not exist at all, but they are practically not seen there," Slutsky said at the meeting in St. Petersburg.

Olga Suyetina, foster mother of a soldier mobilized for the Ukraine conflict said she has heard from her son that the troops are underequipped.

"There are no gunsights, nothing, we have to buy them by crowdfunding," she said, referring to a device on a gun that helps to aim it. "There is nothing; they left Kharkiv, there was zero, there was not even polyethylene to cover the dugouts."

Slutsky, a strong supporter of Russia's fight in Ukraine, said he would address the Defense Ministry about problems that troops face in Ukraine.

"We must understand that the whole world is watching us. We are the largest state and when we do not have socks, shorts, doctors, intelligence, communications, or simply care for our children, questions arise that will be very difficult to answer," he said.

The meeting came a day after President Vladimir Putin met with another group of soldiers' mothers. At that meeting Friday he hit out at what he said were skewed media portrayals of Moscow's military campaign.

"Life is more difficult and diverse that what is shown on TV screens or even on the internet. There are many fakes, cheating, lies there," Putin said.

Putin said that he sometimes speaks with troops directly by telephone, according to a Kremlin transcript and photos of the meeting.

"I've spoken to (troops) who surprised me with their mood, their attitude to the matter. They didn't expect these calls from me," Putin said.

He added that the calls "give me every reason to say that they are heroes."

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.