From January to April 2025, the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation irretrievably lost at least 28% of newly arrived military personnel from among convicted persons.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
From July 2024 to the end of April 2025, 14,560 convicted persons and those under investigation were enlisted in the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation.
These individuals signed contracts with the Russian army in order to avoid criminal liability and to earn money.
“According to reports from the Russian troops themselves, between January and April 2025 alone, the irretrievable losses among such ”soldiers” amounted to at least 4,212 people — dead or missing, not counting the wounded. This is more than 28% of the total number of newly arrived ‘special contingent’ troops,” the DIU noted.
The intelligence report emphasised that a significant number of those killed were aged 18-19. The youngest was Sergiy Saprykin, a private in the 111th Rifle Regiment, born in 2006.
“These facts are further evidence of the Kremlin’s cynical policy of turning young people and marginalized groups into expendable material in the war against Ukraine,” the DIU emphasized.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Kremlin has classified information about the demographic situation in the Russian Federation due to a decrease in the number of personnel in the army.
