Since the Ukraine war started Russia has been losing men, mainly young men who should have been contributing to the economy for years to come. This must be having a serious affect on the economy there.
The Economist calculates that there are up to 1.5 million Russian casualties in the Ukraine war:
Up to 650k mainly men have left Russia to avoid conscription:
Russia’s economy is now facing a severe labour shortage:
But the problem persists, and the latest warning about its potential consequences comes from Russian Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov. At a mid-July cabinet meeting, Kotyakov reportedly told Putin that the country is now facing an acute labor shortage. By 2030, he detailed, the Russian economy will need at least 2.4 million additional workers. (Other estimates put Russia looming labor deficit even higher: 3 million workers or more.)
I have three Russian families as good friends for decades. ALL three of them have none of their grandchildren (neither boys nor girls) living in Russia. Most of the average kids are in Turkic or European countries, and two of the smart boys are in Chinese reseach universities (a physics institute and a chemical engineering program) and have Chinese girl friends they are likely to marry and ever deeper connections there. Bye bye Russia.
It seems this war is affecting all participants in regard to manpower. https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/08/25/ukraine-job-shortage-record-openings-2025/ Ukraine’s State Employment Service reported 265,000 new job openings in the first seven months of 2025, yet could only fill 136,000. This paradox captures the country’s economic transformation: resilient enough to create work, too demographically hollowed out to do it.
Half the jobs posted remain empty—not from lack of demand, but from lack of people.
Google AI
AI Overview: Ukraine’s population decreased significantly from 41 million in 2022 to an estimated 31-39 million in 2025, depending on the source and whether occupied territories are included. The decline is attributed to a high number of refugees, war-related deaths, and a low birth rate. Some estimates put the 2022 population around 41 million, while some 2025 estimates are as low as 31 million in controlled territory and as high as 39 million for the entire country.
I’d guess that Putin doesn’t consider this to be a big problem. All Russia has to do, after they take over some adjacent countries, is put a couple hundred thousand of almost prime working age folks (from each taken over country) on trains and send them to Russia to grow up, live, and become productive.
Yup. I listen to a guy who is some sort of consultant regarding defense economics. He gets invited to international weapons expos and such. He did a really interesting segment about the various costs of war (with emphasis on Russia, since they’re in an active war). One of the factors considered was all the young men and women who will never contribute to the economy/society because they were killed. It can be devastating to an economy.
Plus, those that flee because they don’t want to die in a war. Often, they never come back (at least in part because they would be prosecuted if they did…we had that for many years with Vietnam evaders until they were all pardoned).