More than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a cruel reality is becoming clear: the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war is growing faster than the state can everyone bury. Recently the number of Russian losses turned over 1 million soldiers.
What the Kremlin once described as a swift and limited “special military operation” has collapsed into a war of attrition. And with each passing month, it becomes more evident that Moscow is prepared to sacrifice its own people rather than accept the truth of failure.
In remote towns across Russia, young men—many of them poor, unemployed, or drowning in debt—have been sent to the front lines with promises of quick cash, electronic gadgets, or a chance at a better future. They were told they were fighting for their homeland. Instead, many came home in black body bags—or didn’t come home at all. Others lie in unnamed graves, buried quietly, far from the headlines.
This war is no longer just about territory or NATO or history. It has become something more disturbing: a war conducted not only against Ukraine, but against Russia’s own people. It is being fought for one man’s power, pride, and vision of empire—and the cost is measured in Russian blood.
Behind the patriotic speeches and parades is a far bleaker picture. This is not a war for national defense. It’s a slow-motion disaster, where the dead are forgotten, the grieving are silenced, and the country is drained—slowly, deliberately—for the survival of a regime that cannot admit weakness.
A Personal War at a National Cost
For President Vladimir Putin, this is not just a conflict—it’s a personal mission. A war to restore a version of Russia that never truly existed. That mission has already “utilized” more than a million Russian soldiers, many of them recruits with minimal training and no understanding of what they were sent to do.
These men are not martyrs. They are not national heroes. They are victims of a system that sees them as disposable tools for propaganda and symbols of loyalty.
Western intelligence suggests that for every Ukrainian soldier killed, five to seven Russian soldiers die. In a sign of desperation, officials are now sending anyone they can find to fight: prisoners, the elderly, the sick, and those who can’t afford to say no. Some are forced to fight; others are punished or even executed for trying to escape. Documented evidence shows that deserters are shot, wounded men are left behind, some are killed by their own officers to maintain discipline.
This isn’t a military campaign—it’s a machine that grinds up its own people.
No Glory, No Cause
For most Russian soldiers, there is no clear purpose in this war. They are not defending homes or ideals. They are being thrown into combat under-equipped, under-prepared, and often unwilling. There’s no glory. No resistance. Only survival—if they’re lucky.
And yet, in Russia, only few dare to speak. The fear of criticising the war is greater than the fear of losing another son.
A Nation Taught to Stay Quiet
Across the country, funerals take place in silence. No public mourning. No media coverage. Families are warned from asking too many questions. Journalists are censored. Activists are jailed.
What’s happening in Russia today isn’t just a military failure. It’s collapsing of a nation, where truth is feared, and silence is survival.
A million Russians are already gone.
Not for homeland.
Not for justice.
But for the protection of a regime that fears the truth more than it fears war.
But how many more must die before the silence ends?
Because silence doesn’t protect the innocent.
It just buries them deeper.