Ukraine and Russia’s great race to recruit fighters

As the conflict in Ukraine has entered a new phase since November 5, when Donald Trump was elected US president, the sustainability of Moscow’s war effort against Kiev is the focus of great attention. While the Kremlin is completely reorienting its economy to serve the defense industry and ensure its military resilience, especially in munitions, there is one resource that Russia – like Ukraine – still struggles to maintain; his warriors. Observers worry that the crackdown contributes to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s one-man war.

“Time has been on Russia’s side since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Moscow has a larger population and a larger economy than Kiev. In a war of attrition, this is important,” said Joris Van Bladel, an expert on Russian military affairs. and senior associate at the Egmont Institute in Belgium. “But Russia does not have unlimited resources either. Therefore, we are currently seeing competition in management as well. It’s time,” said Van Bladel, author of an upcoming book Titled February 2025 The Land of the Great Death. How Russia Challenges Western Logic (“Land of Great Sacrifices: How Russia Challenges Western Logic”).

The number of dead and injured on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides is an extremely sensitive issue and exact figures have not been disclosed. But according to A study published in November These losses, called “irreversible” by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), that is, the dead, missing and seriously injured, are increasing. Russian losses are said to be more than 231 per day between March 2022 and October 2023 600 or more than twice that. According to Yuri Fedorov, author of the IFRI study created by cross-checking open source data, they have approached a thousand a day since November 2023. On December 4, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova announced that the ministry had conducted 48,000 DNA tests to identify missing soldiers.

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