Russian grandfathers in their 70s are dying in Ukraine war fighting as ‘volunteers’

Russian men in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s are now fighting and dying on the frontlines, as the Kremlin increasingly depends on volunteers lured to enlist with offers of salary and generous bonuses.

According to a Financial Times report, citing a database compiled over three years by the independent Russian outlet Mediazona in collaboration with the BBC Russian service and others, highlights the evolving profile of Russian soldiers in Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began three years ago.

On the war’s third anniversary, Mediazona published its data in full for the first time, listing the names and details of almost 100,000 Russian soldiers killed in battle in Ukraine, collated
from social media posts and local news. A separate project by iStories has gathered data using AI tools and reached a similar figure, with 104,000 names.

Mediazona and western intelligence officials estimate the total Russian death toll to be significantly higher.

Initially, according to the Mediazona data, most casualties were from the regular Russian armed forces, including elite divisions aimed at capturing Kyiv quickly. However, after a call-up of about 300,000 reservists in autumn 2022, mobilised men began to appear more frequently among the dead. By early 2023, fatalities were dominated by prisoners recruited from jails and fighters from Wagner and other private military companies.

In the war’s third year, the composition of Russia’s forces shifted toward contract soldiers, as Moscow aimed to replenish its battalions without resorting to another unpopular mobilisation order.

It achieved this by offering ever-larger sign-up bonuses and wages to prospective “volunteers”, with older men appearing to be more willing to heed the call.

Explanations range from their military experience in Russia’s previous wars, more urgency in solving financial or legal problems, or the fact that older Russians statistically spend more time watching the country’s propaganda-heavy television, reported FT.

“A typical ‘volunteer’ today, signing up, say, in Moscow, for 2mn roubles ($23,000), is a man who comes to the military office with his whole family, and everyone understands what he is doing,” FT quoted sociologist Kirill Rogov as saying.

“This money will now be used to buy an apartment for his son, who just got married . . . and his other son, who is going to go to university,” Rogov, visiting fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, said.

“He is making a leap for the family, a social leap,” he added.

Mediazona data reveals that while mobilised soldiers predominantly died in their mid-30s, the average age of contract soldiers was over 40. The database includes ages for over 70,000 soldiers, showing more than 4,000 contract soldiers killed were over 50, compared to fewer than 500 regular or mobilised soldiers and 869 prisoners in that age group.

In Ukraine, the average soldier is 43. Although conscription was lowered from 27 to 25 last spring, Ukraine aims to protect future generations, making further reductions unpopular.

Compensation for prospective Russian soldiers varies regionally and has risen sharply. In Samara, for instance, the offer this month reached 4 million roubles ($45,500), the highest in Russia, with potential earnings exceeding 7 million roubles in the first year.

In contrast, the average cost of a new one-bedroom apartment in the regional capital was 5.2 million roubles last year, while the average monthly salary was about 66,000 roubles as of late last year, according to the Gogov online portal.

With inputs from agencies