Experienced Russian frontline fighters have been complaining for months about the lack of ammunition and the growing number of “grandfathers”. Their country is leading the aggression in Ukraine for the third year, and older soldiers are increasingly appearing in the ranks of the army. This is also confirmed by data from open sources about human losses, according to Russian independent journalists from the Verstka project.
“Grandpa, how old are you?” This January, a mobilized Russian filmed an old man who was recruited into the army and left to fight in Ukraine. | Video: Aktuálně.cz/Verstka
Government and military sources, according to a report shared by the opposition website Meduza, say that the presence of Russian contract soldiers over the age of 45 on the frontline has been increasing since the beginning of the year. “Fifty percent in our sector are old guys and they are mowed down,” wrote a soldier who is supposed to serve in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to Verstka.
A soldier from occupied Donetsk expressed himself similarly. “Since the beginning of the summer, our regiment has lost about half of its men in the vicinity of Časiv Yaru. They are still sending us reinforcements, but half of the arrivals are over fifty years old, maybe even older. And not all of them will get to their positions at all,” the Russian shared his testimony.
“Three-quarters of the new arrivals are old men. It’s sad, but that’s the reality. But frankly, I’d rather have these guys than kids who just got out of school,” a Russian officer from the paratroopers unit attacking Kherson told Verstke.
“Older soldiers can’t keep up – they have trouble carrying heavy backpacks and digging trenches. They are all sick. Their legs and head hurt and they are slow,” wrote another of the experienced frontline fighters, according to Verstka.
It is much easier for a younger person to grab a mortar and run a few meters with it. “That’s key in war because everything is heavy – armour, helmets, weapons, ammunition – and you have to be able to run with all that weight,” said BBC military analyst Pavel Aksenov. He suggested that the increase in older soldiers may be related to higher financial incentives and difficult economic conditions in some regions.
According to a source from the Moscow mayor’s office, the number of elderly volunteers has been increasing since August. Some of them are even in their sixties. “These men explain their decision to serve by saying things like, ‘Let the young guys stay at home,’ ‘There are NATO tanks in Russia,’ and ‘Everyone around me has already left,'” the source said.
The increase in the number of older contract soldiers is also indirectly confirmed by the data of the Russian independent server Mediazona and the British BBC about Russian victims in Ukraine. So far this year, journalists have confirmed the deaths of 2,475 Russian contract soldiers over the age of 45, nearly half of those whose age could be verified. This is an 18 percent increase from 2023 and three times more than 2022.
The willingness of old Russians to go to war is also confirmed by a study by sociologists ExtremeScan. They state that men between the ages of 50 and 60 show the greatest readiness for possible further mobilization. For example, only 6.6% of Russians aged 18-24 are ready to go to war if ordered to do so.
During the aggression, the Russian authorities repeatedly extended the age for conscription and the possibility to sign a contract with the army. Last year, for example, the upper age limit for contract soldiers was increased – from 65 to 70 years.
Even the Russians are starting to have enough. The survey showed record numbers in the opinion of aggression. (Full article with video here)
Russians do not want to recognize their relatives as dead soldiers. He begs Putin to help. | Video: Aktuálně.cz/X/Anton Gerashchenko