Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited a training center for mobilized soldiers in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, according to pictures broadcast by Russian television.
It is the first time since the partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists on September 21, that the Russian president inspects on the ground training for those civilians who were called up to support the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
On a shooting stage, the Russian president himself tried to use a weapon after lying on the ground with a safety helmet and a black coat on his back, according to scenes broadcast by Russian television.
Russia Today channel said that Putin tested a new sniper rifle recently adopted in the Russian army.
Also, Putin chatted with some of the soldiers, wishing one of them "good luck", patting him on the shoulder.
Russian news agencies reported that Putin observed exercises for tactical rehabilitation and another to control a major fire in the event of an outbreak.
The visit was attended by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who gave an explanation of the training of hundreds of mobilized reservists, according to the agencies.
A photo published by the Russian agency Sputnik for Putin's visit to a military site near Moscow (European)
On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists, in an attempt to change the dynamics of the battles in Ukraine after the field gains of Kyiv's forces.
Despite admitting mistakes at the beginning of the mobilization process and talking about the escape of thousands of them, Putin said last Friday that 222,000 people have been mobilized so far, including 16,000 who joined "units that participate in battles" in Ukraine.