Most Russian recruits have life expectancy of just 20 minutes on Ukraine front lines, chilling report claims

New York Times

New Russian recruits have a life expectancy of just 20 to 35 minutes in combat in Ukraine — showing how quickly Vladimir Putin’s troops are falling victim to drone warfare, according to chilling reports from Moscow.

Once a soldier is signed up to fight, he can expect to live for just 10 days to three weeks — from arrival at the training ground to death in combat, according to historian Peter Frankopan in an op-ed for Foreign Policy, citing Russian military bloggers.

As the bloody conflict in Ukraine approaches the four and a half year mark, Russian military brass are desperately seeking new soldiers for Putin’s meat grinder.

As the bloody conflict in Ukraine approaches the four and a half year mark, Russian military brass are desperately seeking new soldiers for Putin’s meat grinder.

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So things are looking up for them. 4 months ago, it was "12 minutes".

The 20 minute claim is meaningless.

Previous war claims, also meaningless:

World War I: "It was estimated that a machine gunner's life expectancy in a defensive action was thirty minutes." - William F. Clarke, 27th Division, U.S. Army

Battle of Iwo Jima, 1945: average life expectancy of 30 seconds (from weapon deployment) – J.D. Tweed, machine gunner in the 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division.

European Theater of Operations, 1944-1945: average life expectancy of three minutes (from firing the first shots) – Donald Burgett, rifleman and machine gunner in Company A, 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

European Theater of Operations, 1944-1945: “I later found out that the life expectancy of a machine gunner in combat is three days.” – Arnald Gabriel, machine gunner in the 29th Infantry Division

Korean War: “The average life expectancy of a machine gunner in a battle was 15 minutes.” – Frank Paul, machine gunner in the 1st Marine Division

Vietnam War: “The life expectancy of a machine gunner in Vietnam was somewhere around seven seconds after a firefight began.” – Johnnie Clark, Gunner's Glory: Untold Stories of Marine Machine Gunners

Vietnam War: – “seven to ten seconds” Johnnie Clark, Guns Up!

Vietnam War: “When I was undergoing machine gun training [circa 1970], we were told by our instructor that a machine gunner's life expectancy once a machine gunner opened fire, is 6 seconds.” – Frederick Fenwick a machine gunner in the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Vietnam War: "[The armorer] handed me the machine gun—the M60—and he looked at me and said to me, ‘You have seven seconds to live.’ And I looked at him and I didn’t quite understand. What he was trying to tell me is the average life span of the machine gunner in Vietnam was seven seconds from the moment you pulled the trigger. There were three individuals that the Viet Cong would shoot for. Of course the officer, the radio man, and the M60 machine gunner. The officer you could understand. The radioman you could understand—there’s no communication. But the man who has the most firepower is the machine gunner. So the average lifespan is seven seconds." – Tony Vargas, Marine Corps

Vietnam War: life expectancy of 15 minutes – Michael Montigny, Marine Corps

Vietnam War: “A door gunner's life expectancy is 19 seconds.” – Jim Chancellor, 119th Assault Helicopter Company

Vietnam War: “The average lifespan of a door gunner in a hot LZ (landing zone under enemy fire) is about 15 seconds.” – John Hess, 117th Assault Helicopter Company