As the war in Ukraine drags far into its third year, the ranks of the Russian army are increasingly filled with older fighters, according to a new report from Verstka. Government and military sources report a steady rise in the number of Russian contract servicemen over 45 on the front lines since the start of the year, a trend confirmed by data on Russian casualties calculated from open sources. According to frontline soldiers, this is a serious problem: older recruits struggle with the physical demands of war as they lack the endurance and strength of younger troops. Meduza shares a summary of Verstka’s findings about Russia’s increasing reliance on older recruits.
Russian soldiers in the combat zone have two main complains: ammunition shortages and the growing number of “grandpas,” slang for contract soldiers over 50, according to a parliamentarian who regularly visits the front and keeps in touch with the troops. “The average age of [military personnel] has definitely gone up,” reads one message from a soldier seen by Verstka. “Fifty percent [of the soldiers] in our sector are old guys, and they’re being mowed down,” wrote another, reportedly stationed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
A soldier fighting on the front lines in occupied Donetsk expressed similar concerns. “Since the start of summer, our regiment has lost about half of our people near Chasiv Yar — either killed or wounded,” he said. “They keep sending us reinforcements, but half the people arriving are over 50, maybe even older. And not all of them even make it to their positions.”
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A mobilized soldier in the Luhansk sector sent Verstka a video showing an older serviceman struggling to walk down the road. “It’s just old guys heading into battle,” the soldier narrates as he films. “What’s our command thinking? These are the kinds of fighters they’re recruiting. People join up out of foolishness, but the [enlistment offices] need to pay attention.” When asked his age, the older man replies, “62.”
An airborne officer fighting near Kherson described the situation with new contract soldiers as “grim.” “About 40 percent are over 50,” he told Verstka. “And three-quarters of the new arrivals are old men. It’s sad, but that’s the reality. Honestly, though, I’d rather have these guys than kids just out of school.”
‘They’re all sick’
The number of older volunteer soldiers has been on the rise since August, with some even in their 60s, according to a source in the Moscow mayor’s office, who cited recruitment data in the capital. He noted that at the start of the year, the average age of new recruits was around 40, but now it’s closer to 50. These older men explain their decision to serve with remarks like, “Let the young guys stay home,” “There are NATO tanks in Russia,” and “Everyone in my neighborhood’s already gone,” the source said.
Another senior official from the mayor’s office confirmed that in recent months, volunteers over 45 have made up about half of all recruits in Moscow. However, he didn’t see any issue with older people heading to the front. “So what? They’re fit, they’re fathers,” he said. “They’ve got experience and can outperform any [young] guy.”
But the lawmaker sources had a different view. According to these soldiers, the older servicemen “can’t keep up” — they struggle to carry heavy packs and dig trenches. “And they’re sick. They’re all sick,” one soldier wrote. “Their legs hurt, their heads ache, and they’re slow.”
From a physical standpoint, older fighters do indeed lag behind younger ones, BBC Russian military analyst Pavel Aksenov told Verstka. “It’s much easier for a younger person to grab a mortar and run several meters with it,” he explained. “That’s crucial in war, because everything is heavy — armor, helmets, weapons, ammo — and you need to be able to run with all that weight. These older men, in general, just aren’t as effective in combat due to their physical limitations.” Aksenov suggested that the increase in older contract soldiers could be tied to higher financial incentives and the tough economic conditions in some regions.
A growing trend
The rise in the number of older contract soldiers is also indirectly confirmed by Mediazona and BBC data on Russian casualties in Ukraine. So far this year, journalists have confirmed the deaths of 2,475 Russian contract soldiers over the age of 45, accounting for nearly half of those whose ages could be verified. This represents an 18 percent increase compared to all of 2023, when 2,021 deaths were recorded in this age group, and is three times higher than in 2022, when there were 809 verified deaths.
The number of soldiers over 55 being killed is also rising sharply. This year, Mediazona has recorded 597 deaths in this age group — 50 percent more than in all of 2023, when 404 soldiers over 55 were killed, and four times the number in 2022. The oldest confirmed casualty was 72-year-old Mikhail Shuvalov, who died in 2022.
According to data reviewed by Verstka, more and more older soldiers are dying each month — from 16 soldiers over 45 killed in March 2022 to 131 in August of this year. Mediazona noted that the list of deaths in recent months is still incomplete and will grow as more obituaries are processed.
Throughout the war, the Russian authorities have repeatedly introduced measures to expand the age range for conscription and contract service. In the summer of 2023, the maximum draft age was raised from 27 to 30. Additionally, a new regulation increased the age limit for reservists by five years, raising the upper age limit for reserve service from 35 to 40 for first-class personnel, from 45 to 50 for second-class personnel, and from 50 to 55 for third-class personnel. Last year, the upper age limit for contract soldiers was also raised — from 65 to 70.