The Russian military is seeing an influx of older contract soldiers who are largely seen as detrimental to its war effort in Ukraine, the investigative news outlet Vyorstka reported Wednesday, citing anonymous military and parliamentary sources.

Volunteer fighters aged 45 and over now make up half of new recruits in Moscow, a senior Mayor’s Office source was cited as saying. The average age of recruits has risen from 40 at the start of the year to about 50, said another Moscow Mayor’s Office source.

“They’re all sick,” a Russian soldier fighting in Ukraine was quoted as saying of these troops. “Their legs hurt, their heads hurt, and they’re slow.”

  • paddirn@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    It’s apparently the strategy of both the West and China to wear Russia down and the Russians are either too stupid to realize it, or Putin feels he just doesn’t have a choice at this point. After this war, Russia is very likely to be a Chinese vassal state, which China will use to extract cheap resources (which they’re pretty much already doing now). Russia is throwing their future away on the fields of Ukraine over a strip of land, it’s so mind-numbingly stupid.

    • notabot@lemm.ee
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      8 hours ago

      Russia Putin is throwing their future away on the fields of Ukraine over a strip of land, it’s so mind-numbingly stupid evil.

      Let’s face it, it’s a countries leader(s) that decide to feed their population into a meat grinder, not the people themselves. At this point there may ne little the average Russian can do to stop the process, at least, without significant retribution from the same government.