A group of Russian women have appealed to Vladimir Putin to stop sending mobilised Russian men to the front line like “meat” without adequate training.

In a video shared online, the women say the mobilisation of new recruits has been a betrayal, after the Russian president said they would not be sent to the front line immediately.

The women say their sons, husbands and brothers have been “thrown like meat” to storm fortified areas in Ukraine. One group of Russians was sent to fight without any ammunition, a separate report claimed.

In the video shared by the independent Telegram news channel SOTA, the women can be seen standing in a group holding a sign in Russian that says “580 Separate Howitzer Artillery Division”, dated March 11, 2023.

One of the women says: “My husband... is located on the line of contact with the enemy. Our mobilised [men] are being sent like lambs to the slaughter to storm fortified areas - five at a time, against 100 heavily armed enemy men.”

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Putin ordered the mobilisation of more than 300,000 men in September, to the shock of ordinary Russians.

Of those drafted, many have perished. Among the reasons for the high casualties have been poor training and a lack of equipment. Recruits have reported being sent to battle with old weapons and unsuitable clothing.

A team of independent Russian journalists called the No Future project said authorities have tried to cover up the deaths of dozens of mobilised Russians from Volgograd who were sent to fight without ammunition.