Russia is facing severe demographic issues that will affect Russia's ability to replace troops killed in war

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The losses in the Ukraine war and emigration are hurting Russia

Link to tweet

[Jilly_in_VA]

1. Which is why

they are hijacking citizens of other, poorer countries by promising them jobs and then throwing them into the army as cannon fodder.

[Coventina]

2. Shocking that Russians aren't anxious to procreate!

Autocratic regimes are so confidence inspiring!

Same situation we have here: Very limited members of autocratic societies feel inspired to have big families.

[haele]

8. Russia's problem is the same as our Xtian Nationalists

Actually, it's a bit worse.
Russia's ethnic "elite" are White Russians - Northern Slavs (Muscavoy, Belarussian, Northern Ukrainian, northern Armenia), but they're the minority in Russia itself. They've also pretty much Westernized. Educated, middle class, privileged - even a poor ethnic Russian from a farm or small town outside of Moscow generally has access to modern amenities and infrastructure. They live like late 20th Century Western Europeans, at the very least.
The rest of Russia isn't so privileged.
The rest of Russia is comprised of basically tribal states- Siberia, all the 'Stans, Georgia ... All rather poor, with different ethnic cultures and more importantly, different outlooks and understanding of hierarchal authority.
They're not Russian the way Putin and the Oligarchs understand Russian citizens to be....they're peasants. Disposable, like livestock. Living in the 19th or early 20th century, if they're lucky.
And they're not the type of Russian the ruling classes recognize as the real Russian demographic.

[Emrys]

3. Then they'll just have to carry on luring cannonfodder from other nations on false promises

It's ironic, given Putin's long-term campaign to use migrants in Europe as just another cynical destabilization weapon, that Russians are reportedly growing increasingly uneasy at the number of non-white immigrants who are being shipped in to take on basic non-military work for which Russia no longer has the workforce:

Central Asian migrants face Russia's cold shoulder

Russia draws millions of Central Asian migrant workers every year. But the 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall has sparked xenophobia and now it seems the workers are no longer as welcome.

https://www.dw.com/en/central-asian-migrants-face-russias-cold-shoulder/a-73701308

Moscow’s Xenophobic Migration Policy Is Impacting Relations With Central Asia

By stirring up anti-migrant sentiment to distract Russian society from the war in Ukraine, Moscow is alienating its allies in Central Asia. Following Azerbaijan’s example, Central Asian countries are prepared to start standing up to Russia.

https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/10/russia-migrantophobia-rise

Maybe Vlad should ask Dozy Donny for some tips.

[Strelnikov_]

4. Ukraines strategy for '26 is a modern day Verdun

To inflict 50,000 casualties a month, while limiting their casualties by adopting a defense in depth.

[Norrrm]

5. Not just replacing troops but sustaining and growing the economy.

[tanyev]

6. Surely there's a lot of able-bodied men working for Russia's troll farms....

🤨

[meadowlander]

9. And more of this please:

https://news.sky.com/story/meet-the-moral-migrants-relocating-from-west-to-russia-with-a-shared-values-visa-13473637

Let's see how much they care about a 12 year old trans kid participating in fencing when they're hunkering down at the front for a Ukrainian winter.

[tanyev]

10. Wow, the Venn diagram of stupid and delusional in that article is basically a perfect circle.

[Coventina]

11. Yeah, the kids look THRILLED to be in Russia!

How long before they have to report to the front?

[EarthFirst]

7. Which makes a madman with chemical biological and nuclear weapons...

…a potentially far more grave situation.

[hatrack]

12. Which, of course, was the whole reason behind invading Ukraine in the first place . . .

Option A: Invest in education, infrastructure, public health, transportation and make meaningful political and judicial reforms to improve the lives of your citizens so they feel confident about the future and about having kids. Caution: This will take a long time and success is uncertain.

Option B: Summon the same old butchers steering the same old tub of blood and invade another country you used to control to make up for the babies people in your own country aren't having any more. Caution: This can take a long time, will deplete your already-falling population event faster, and success is really, really REALLY FUCKING UNCERTAIN.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. So, using Russians as meat to grind on the front lines had a long term negative effect?

Who knew?