Macabre "special offer" from Putin?

According to insiders, Russian recruits can go to the sperm bank for free

Created: 12/30/2022, 4:57 am

By: Florian Naumann

Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg at the end of December.

© IMAGO/Alexei Danichev

Russian recruits fear for their lives in the Ukraine war.

Now there is a "special offer" from one of Vladimir Putin's ministers.

Possibly with ulterior motives.

Moscow – Russia constantly needs more soldiers for the war of aggression in Ukraine – apparently there are now somewhat macabre “special offers” for recruits: According to an insider, men sent to war in the course of Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization can now have their sperm frozen free of charge.

Russia in the Ukraine war: the ministry now apparently pays the sperm bank for recruits

"The Russian Ministry of Health has decided to provide funding from budget funds for the free preservation and storage of gametes of citizens mobilized to take part in the military special operation," the head of the Russian Bar Association Igor Trunov said on Wednesday state news agency Tass.

Trunow represents clients who want to freeze their seeds.

The media had previously reported that demand from the seed banks had increased significantly with the mobilization.

The presumed reason: Future soldiers want to at least secure their offspring in this way.

One possible reason for the increased state interest in this step: Russia is facing a demographic problem.

According to UN estimates, the population is likely to shrink noticeably over the next 25 years.

The loss of many young men could exacerbate the situation.

Russia's losses in the Ukraine war remain great unknowns

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense in autumn, around 6,000 Russian soldiers lost their lives in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine, on the other hand, estimated Russian losses on Wednesday morning (December 28) at exactly 103,770 soldiers - including 500 casualties on the previous day alone.

Both versions are not independently verifiable.

The true number should lie somewhere between these two extremes.

However, there had also been public debates in Russia in the fall about missions involving losses in the Ukraine war.

Most recently, it was also read that the Wagner mercenary group was sending inexperienced soldiers into the field, mainly with tablets.

Ukraine reported on Wednesday a wave of Russian desertions in the contested Luhansk Oblast.

This information also remains unconfirmed for the time being.

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