Putin Spares The Elite And Puts The Hardships Of War On Poor Regions

• 23.12.2025, 17:29

This was announced by Britain's intelligence service.

Russia continues to fight against Ukraine mainly at the expense of ethnic minorities from poor regions. The elite are hardly involved in the fighting, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing a British intelligence briefing.

British intelligence has pointed out that Russia has continued to suffer very high casualties since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is likely that in both 2024 and 2025 Russian casualties were at over 400,000 killed and wounded. But it is notable that ethnic Russians who live in urban areas continue to account for a disproportionately small share of military personnel and consequent casualties compared to the rest of the population.

In particular, according to British intelligence, the independent Russian media outlet Project recently reported that less than 1% of Russian government officials have relatives who participated in the illegal invasion.

British intelligence explained that recruiting recruits in poor regions, often populated by predominantly ethnic minorities