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One of Russia’s most prominent nationalist politicians said the Russian military does not have an adequate number of doctors.

He said this came among other problems facing the military, during 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.

He said at the St Petersburg meeting: “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.”

Mr Slutsky, a strong supporter of the war, added: “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.”