Russian Media 'Mediazona' Releases Casualty Report
Since Last Year, Rising Deaths Among Contract Soldiers Aged 40 and Above
Authorities Recruit with Large Cash Incentives and Debt Forgiveness
As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its third year and prolongs, reports have emerged that Russian authorities, facing a manpower shortage, are encouraging voluntary enlistment by offering large sums of cash and debt forgiveness. As a result, even men in their 70s are being deployed to the front lines. On the 25th (local time), the Russian independent media outlet 'Mediazona' released its own investigation data on Russian military casualties on the eve of the third anniversary of the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
According to the data, immediately after the war broke out on February 24, 2022, the majority of the casualties were special forces and regular army soldiers. Around the fall of the same year, a mobilization order was issued for 300,000 reservists, leading to an increase in reservist casualties with an average age in the mid-30s. From 2023 onwards, prisoner soldiers conscripted from prisons across Russia and mercenaries from private military companies (PMCs), including the Wagner Group, became the main casualties.
In the third year of the war, 2024, the proportion of casualties among 'contract soldiers' aged 40 and above has significantly increased. This appears to be the result of Russian authorities encouraging voluntary enlistment contracts by offering large bonuses, generous wages, and debt forgiveness. In Samara Oblast, known as the region offering the most generous benefits for voluntary enlistment within Russia, it is reported that as of this month, one can receive about 4 million rubles (approximately 65 million KRW). Compared to the current average monthly wage of workers in the region, 65,000 rubles (about 1.06 million KRW), this is a substantial amount.
Kiril Rogov, a sociologist at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, Austria, said, "Voluntary enlistees in Moscow come to recruitment offices with their entire families for 2 million rubles (about 32 million KRW). Everyone understands what he is doing. This money will be used to buy an apartment for a newlywed son, and another son will go to university." He added, "He is elevating the social status of his family."
Accordingly, cases of elderly people taking up arms and going to the front lines are increasing. A man named Yuri Bushkovsky, who died in Ukraine last November, was reported to be 69 years old.
On the 20th (local time), four days before the third anniversary of the outbreak of the war, photos of the fallen soldiers were densely attached to the "Wall of Remembrance" surrounding St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 24th, marking three years since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the estimated military casualties on both sides reached 1.3 million, making it the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. According to estimates by the UK’s International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), as of early January this year, 172,000 Russian soldiers have died and 611,000 have been wounded. Ukrainian military casualties are estimated to be around 500,000, generally considered lower than Russia’s. Some analyses attribute this to Russia’s tactic of recklessly deploying poorly trained recruits to the front lines.
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