NATO Chief Warns Young Russians of High Casualty Risk if They Join Ukraine Fighting

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned young Russians on Wednesday that they would likely die on the front lines if they enlist in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking during a visit to Kyiv, Rutte said the Kremlin was suffering “absolutely staggering” losses and that any new recruit stands the risk of being among the more than 30,000 Russian soldiers killed on the battlefield every month.

“You are being sold a raw deal,” Rutte said in remarks directly addressed to young Russians.

“Men like you who join the fight — you won’t be trained. ” He added that there is a very high chance recruits will die or be wounded, and that if wounded, they will be left to suffer in the mud and die. Rutte placed the numbers in context by noting that Russia is actively losing in a month what the whole Soviet Union lost in the decade of fighting in Afghanistan.

“That’s not abstract,” he said. ” Russia has been repeatedly criticized during the more than four years of war of using “meatgrinder tactics” to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses. The tactic has proven less effective as Kyiv adapted and fortified its strategic fortress belt in the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has struggled to make any significant gains in more than a year.

-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, with similar figures recorded in 2026. 2 million Russian soldiers have been killed, wounded or gone missing from the beginning of the war through early 2026, the CSIS found. As casualties continue to mount, the Kremlin — which promises recruits large salaries for enlisting — has increasingly sought the aid of foreign fighters.

Ukrainian intelligence officials warned that Moscow has plans to recruit at least 18,500 soldiers from other countries into the Russian army in 2026. Rutte joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in laying flowers at Kyiv’s Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine during the visit.