At Least Five Percent of Soldiers from Non-Russian Regions Dying in Combat in Ukraine, Raksha Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 22 – Some commentators have suggested as many as half of all soldiers from Buryatia, Daghestan, and Udmurtia who were sent to fight in Ukraine have died in combat there. The actual figure is much lower than that, Aleksey Raksha says; and while it may have significant political consequences, it won’t have a major demographic impact.

            The figures that some media outlets like MediaZone and People of Baikal have published show that about five percent of the men taken in the latest draft in these republics have died in Ukraine. Even if one doubles or triples these numbers, that means about 15 to 20 percent of the young men drafted have died there (verstka.media/interview-demographia-v-rossii/).

            Such figures are not trivial. They mean that most young people in these republics will know someone who has died in Ukraine and be affected by it. But they are not so large that they will cast a demographic shadow on these republics in the future, Raksha continues. Only a much larger war with much larger losses could do that.