Constant mobilization in Russia leads to demographic crisis

For almost three years, Russia has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine, this is the largest and bloodiest military conflict in Europe since the end of World War II.

The war unleashed by the Putin regime is an aggression aimed at seizing the territories of sovereign independent Ukraine, the deliberate destruction of the Ukrainian people, the targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure and contradicts all norms of international law, violates many international and bilateral agreements, and destroys the global security system.

The Kremlin is not sparing either Russians or Ukrainians in this war. In the war against Ukraine, the Russian army of the 2022 model has actually caused total destruction. The losses of the Russian armed forces today already amount to more than 800 thousand soldiers and officers.

In order to replenish the number of military personnel, the Russian authorities are conducting a constant mobilization campaign. To compensate for the huge losses, approximately 30,000 additional recruits are mobilized into the Russian armed forces every month.

First of all, new Russian recruits are lured into service with high one-time payments and high cash benefits. However, no amount of money can bring people back their lives and health.Russian soldiers do not receive sufficient military training, modern military equipment, and protective equipment. Mortality among newly arrived Russian recruits is comparable to the losses of the Soviet army during World War II. Up to a third of new Russian recruits in first-echelon units at the front die in the very first battle, and up to half of the recruits die in the next two to five battles.

Systematic bullying of soldiers by sergeants and officers is rampant in Russian military units. New recruits are viewed as “expendable material” , which is not a pity, because a new addition will arrive tomorrow.

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In case of illness or injury, Russian soldiers do not receive the necessary treatment and time for rehabilitation. The indigenous peoples of Russia suffer the most from the large-scale mobilization. Most of their men have either already been mobilized, or have died, are missing, or will be drafted into the ranks of the Russian army in the near future. In fact, thousands of representatives of the indigenous peoples of Russia may not survive this war.

Among the regions of Russia, the largest number of confirmed killed soldiers comes from the Republic of Bashkortostan – 3,487 people. At the same time, residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities are mobilized several times less than representatives of the population of the Russian hinterland. According to demographers and sociologists, during the war against Ukraine, as of the end of 2024, 3.5 times more Bashkirs died than Muscovites, three times more Tatarstan residents, and twice as many Buryats as Moscow residents.

In the all-Russian dimension, the death and mutilation of almost a million Russian men will certainly lead to irreversible demographic processes – a reduction in the number of Russians for decades to come.

Therefore, a significant part of new Russian recruits, realizing the situation and the risks to their lives and health in the war, voluntarily leave military units and voluntarily surrender to the Ukrainian army. And this is the best way out of the situation for Russian soldiers to save their lives.