Even 70-year-old seniors are rushing into war... The manpower shortage is severe.

 

As the war prolongs, it has been revealed that the Russian military, facing a manpower shortage, is deploying men in their 70s to the front lines. This increase is due to Russian authorities encouraging voluntary enlistment by offering large sums of cash and debt forgiveness, leading to more retired men of enlistment age volunteering with the hope of providing a better life for their families.

 

On the 25th (local time), according to the UK daily Financial Times (FT) and others, the Russian independent media Meduza released data it had independently investigated regarding Russian military casualties on the eve of the third anniversary of the Ukraine war outbreak.

Based on this analysis, in the early stages of the 2022 war, the majority of the casualties were special forces and regular army soldiers.

After a mobilization order was issued for 300,000 reservists in the same year, the number of reservist casualties in their mid-30s increased on average, and from early 2023, mercenaries from private military companies (PMCs), including prisoner soldiers recruited from various prisons and the Wagner Group, a mercenary company, became the majority of the casualties.

 

Especially in the third year of the war, the proportion of casualties among 'contract soldiers' in their 40s and older has increased significantly. It is analyzed that this is the result of Russian authorities encouraging voluntary enlistment through large sums of cash and debt forgiveness.

A sociologist explained, "All the families of resource-enlisted soldiers understand what he is doing," and added, "This money, received as a reward for participating in the war, will be used to buy an apartment for his newlywed son. He is elevating the social status of his family."

In the Samara region, known as the area with the most generous benefits for resource enlistment within Russia, individuals can receive approximately 4 million rubles (about 66 million Korean won) as of this month. The average monthly wage for workers in the Samara region is currently reported to be 65,000 rubles (about 1.07 million Korean won).

Experts analyzed that, similar to Yuri Bushkovsky, who was killed in Ukraine at the age of 69 last November, there are increasing cases of people in their 60s and 70s taking up arms and going to the front lines.

According to data released by Mediazona, among the contracted soldiers who died, over 4,000 were aged 50 or older at the time of death, which is significantly higher than the number of regular army and reserve soldiers in the same age group (500) or prisoner soldiers (869).

Meanwhile, the average age of Ukrainian soldiers is also quite high at 43 years old.

In the early stages of the war, many young people voluntarily took up arms, but as the war prolonged and massive casualties occurred, it became difficult to recruit additional soldiers.

 

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What can two countries possibly gain from a war that has sacrificed countless lives?

 

The tragic scene of so many young people dying and even forcing the elderly into war...

 

I wonder what kind of thing that is..