Russian draftees more likely to be killed than professional soldiers

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 21 Sep 2023 by Alex Teddy

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On September 21 IStories and the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) published a report saying 1 in 5 mobilized Russian soldiers are killed within 60 days of being sent to the war. They used open sources to compile this data. The report was based on 3,000 draftees who have been killed since September 2022. The report said that the real death toll is probably significantly higher. The sources used on draftee deaths were media reports, relatives of the deceased who spoke out and official press releases. Draftees are more likely to be killed in the first few months because they are rushed through basic training or refresher courses. They lack the battlefield skills to survive. They are given old and second rate equipment. New and excellent equipment is issued to professional soldiers who were already in the army in 2022. Draftees are seen as expendable and are thrown into diversionary attacks. The majority of mobilized troops who died were aged 30-45. A third were 20-29. Russia's last official death toll was September 2022, when it was 6,000. In February 2023 US intelligence documents were leaked saying that Russian war deaths were estimated to be 110,000. But that may have been a controlled leak to demoralize Russia. There is no speculation about a new draft in 2023.