One in Four Recent Graduates of an Russian Officer Training School Died in Ukraine Fighting

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 5 – At least 17 of the 74 newly-minted lieutenants from an officer training academy in Donetsk have died in Ukraine, an indication of the way in which Russian commanders are sacrificing junior officers to gain territory in Ukraine and a poor advertisement for the Putin regime which wants to recruit more men to go and fight there.
    The Important Stories portal which documented this also pointed to other signs that the Russian military is desperate to get more junior officers to fill the ranks. On the one hand, those being trained were assigned to units even before graduation; and on the other, whole classes have had their training shortened (istories.media/stories/2024/12/05/pochti-kazhdii-chetvertii/).
    Moreover, the portal continued, of those who managed to avoid being killed in combat, almost 100 percent were seriously wounded, placing additional burdens on the Russian military and making it an even less attractive option for Russian men who might be inclined to sign up because of increasingly large bonuses being offered for them to do so.