Military expert: Russian conscript's average lifespan at the front is 20–30 minutes

Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) Major Jānis Slaidiņš, an officer of the National Guard staff, discussed Russia's military recruitment and combat losses during the broadcast "Aktuālais par karadarbību Ukrainā" (Current Affairs on the War in Ukraine).

According to Slaidiņš, Russia recruits roughly a thousand new soldiers per day on average, with the figure reaching as high as 1,200 on some days.

Short survival time, low training

Slaidiņš said the average life expectancy of a newly conscripted Russian soldier on the battlefield is just 20 to 30 minutes. He also cited recent loss figures — recently 1,400, and the day before that 1,500, of which about 60%, or 835 soldiers, were killed in action.

He explained that such high casualty rates are linked to the soldiers' level of training. Russian troops are currently being deployed in small groups, and while drones dominate the battlefield, this remains essentially the only tactic available given the circumstances.

Database of the fallen

Slaidiņš noted that a database is being maintained tracking Russian soldiers killed in the war, currently listing 230,789 dead, each with a first and last name attached. The data is compiled from various public sources, including death notices and funeral announcements. He described it as a well-maintained database that also includes photographs, though he stressed the figures should not be treated as final.

Reliance on manpower over equipment

Discussing how Russian forces are advancing in certain sectors of the front, Slaidiņš said the tactic still relies heavily on manpower rather than equipment. Looking at equipment losses compared with personnel losses, he said, shows that the heaviest burden of the fighting on the Russian side is carried by living soldiers rather than machinery.