Russian Troops Using Carpets and Saplings As Camouflage: Report

• Russian troops in Ukraine appear to be using twigs, hay, and saplings to cover their vehicles.
• One video circulating on social media shows a Russian vehicle taped with saplings, per The Washington Post.
• In comparison, Ukrainian troops have been using camouflage nets to obscure themselves in the war.

Russian forces in Ukraine appear to be using carpets, saplings, and hay to cover their armored vehicles, a possible sign that they haven’t been provided adequate camouflage equipment, The Washington Post reported.

One video of a firefight circulating over social media shows a military vehicle with pine saplings sparsely taped to its side, per The Post.

—Woofers (@NotWoofers) March 27, 2022

Another video, also identified by The Post, depicts Russian troops covering an armored vehicle with tarpaulin and carpets.

—Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 22, 2022

Several images of a Russian convoy crossing into the eastern Donbas region the day before the war began also show the roofs of multiple military vehicles covered with straw.

Another photo shows a Russian armored vehicle in the convoy topped with twigs.

The absence of camouflage netting among some Russian forces shows a surprising lack of preparation, and perhaps an initial overconfidence from their military leaders, Russian military expert Rob Lee told The Post.

The US military has used camouflage nets since the 1990s and recently upgraded them to fit woodland, snow, and desert environments. Ukrainian troops have also been using such nets, with civilians even helping to weave them for use on the frontline.

The quality of Russia’s troops and equipment have come into question in the weeks after Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared a full-scale invasion into Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s army “incompetent,” adding that Moscow was “driving their people to slaughter” and that Ukrainian troops had inflicted “unprecedented losses” upon the invaders.

Russian casualties have continued to mount as the war stretches longer than the Kremlin reportedly anticipated. A NATO official estimated on March 24 that at least 40,000 Russian troops had been killed, captured or injured in the invasion.