Putin’s Soldiers Forced to Pay for Their Own War Gear: “It’s About Life and Death”

Units reportedly chip in for drones, knowing these devices could save their lives.

Essential Gear

Russian soldiers on the front lines are reportedly spending hundreds of thousands of rubles from their own pockets to buy essential gear, ranging from drones to anti-drone tech.

Volunteer and publicist Sergey Bogatyryov explains the growing phenomenon and the staggering costs individual troops are facing.

Starlink? Out of Soldiers’ Wallets

Unlike Ukrainian forces, Russia’s military doesn’t have access to the Starlink satellite system. Instead, soldiers have begun crowdfunding it themselves.

Bogatyryov says to Lenta that platoons or companies often pool together around 500,000 rubles to secure communication capabilities.

Eyes in the Sky or Nothing at All

Drones like the DJI Mavic Classic and Mavic 3T have become essential tools for survival.

“There’s a direct link between having aerial eyes and losing soldiers,” Bogatyryov said.

Units reportedly chip in for drones, knowing these devices could save their lives.

High-Tech, High-Cost Necessity

Even basic drones are expensive, and the high-end “Matrice” models are described as the Rolls-Royces of aerial surveillance.

Still, troops do what they can to obtain them because the alternative is flying blind into enemy territory.

China’s Silent Block

According to Bogatyryov, one of the reasons for the drone shortage is a quiet policy from China that prevents large-scale official sales of these UAVs to Russia.

That leaves soldiers dependent on private, often unofficial, supply chains.

Units Crowdfund for Survival

These are not optional purchases. “Soldiers understand: these birds are their lives,” Bogatyryov said.

Teams regularly pool resources to buy drones and avoid unnecessary casualties from undetected threats.

Buying Their Own Jamming Systems

Electronic warfare systems, used to disrupt enemy drones, are also being purchased by soldiers or through volunteer help.

With technology evolving rapidly, even equipment bought just months ago can suddenly become obsolete.

The Tech Arms Race Is Relentless

Drone and anti-drone warfare evolves at breakneck speed.

Frequencies change, antenna polarizations shift, and systems that worked last month can become useless overnight. It’s a constant race just to keep up.

Industry Can’t Keep Pace

Bogatyryov doesn’t entirely blame the state.

“Even mass production takes months,” he explains. “By the time factories set up to build equipment, the battlefield requirements have already changed.”

A Financial Burden with No End

Beyond drones and comms gear, earlier reports have shown that Russian troops often spend 200,000 to 300,000 rubles monthly on basics like food, clothing, and protective equipment.

For many, it’s an unsustainable financial strain.