TOAround a million soldiers are believed to have been killed or wounded in Russia's war in Ukraine. In addition to the enormous number of civilian and military casualties in Ukraine, the Russian casualty rate has reportedly reached a new high. More than 1,200 players daily in September. Russia has four times as many men, but a war described by its own fighters as a “meat grinder” is rapidly depleting its ranks, and the use of conscripts comes at a political cost. By some estimates, seven times as many Russian soldiers died after the invasion as Soviet troops in Afghanistan did in a decade.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and now ambassador to the United Kingdom, recently noted that “only mathematics works” in war. For all its benefits, Moscow increasingly looks abroad to supply its conflict not only with weapons, equipment and other resources, but also with fighters and workers.
The surprising confirmation came from a South Korean intelligence report that 1,500 North Korean special forces are on their way to Ukraine. Some have speculated that they were supporting Russian troops rather than fighting, at least given communications and other difficulties, or that they might be there to learn about drone warfare. Their elite status may be more a sign of political credibility than how they will be used. Pyongyang has already sent workers and weapons. However, it is an important step in the relationship. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there are 10,000 troops. Can be sent in total.
Because Russia needs foreigners Pronatalist policies have failed to stop demographic decline; Their average age is now 40 years old. The country has long relied on migrant workers to fill the void, but the pandemic has reduced their numbers. Last year it had a shortage of 4.8 million workers. A million young Russians may have left because of the war, and the army is competing with the factories that supply it.
Central Asia has provided the majority of migrant workers in the past. But since the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in March, for which Tajik citizens were convicted, growing racism has led to a crackdown that has prevented officials and others from seeking employment there. Some Central Asian countries also warned their citizens of being punished for fighting for Russia.
Russia is looking further and further away. Some immigrants are lured into military service with the promise of a salary or accelerated citizenship. Others are deceived or coerced. Indian and Nepalese workers who thought they were going to work in Russia, Germany or Dubai found themselves on the front lines of the struggle in Ukraine. About 200 women from Uganda, Sierra Leone and other African countries were recruited to assemble attack drones in Tatarstan, Andhra Pradesh. This month it was reported that they were exposed to caustic chemicals.
Russia poses as a friend of developing countries while relying on expendable fighters and cheap labor from poor countries. President Vladimir Putin's attempt to integrate the region into a greater Russia has the support of foreign workers. That speaks less to the strength of emerging alliances than to the underlying internal problems his country faced before launching the invasion that devastated Ukraine and killed many of Russia's own citizens.
