Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
In late 2024, it was a month.
The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is approximately 78 years.
In Germany, that number is 81.7 years.
In Ukraine, the expected life expectancy at birth in 2023–2024 was 73.4 years, with the Russian invasion heavily impacting that number.
As of 2023, Russian life expectancy at birth was approximately 73 years.
There are, of course, big differences in the respective demographics, with women generally outliving men. In Ukraine and Russia, the soon-to-be four-year-long war is hammering life expectancy on both sides—especially Russia’s.
Life expectancy at the front
In fact, in November 2024, Forbes reported that the average Russian recruit had a one-month life expectancy after arriving at the front.
Around the same time, Euromaidan Press reported that the life expectancy among Russian recruits at the front in the then highly contested area around Myrnohrad was as low as two weeks.
Since then, life expectancy has plummeted even further, due to the Russian strategy of using massive numbers to push against Ukrainian lines.
According to The Telegraph, the average life expectancy of a Russian recruit at the front in Ukraine is now as low as 72 hours, where the fighting is fiercest.
Four hours in the “Meat Grinder”
In 2023, when the battle for Bakhmut raged, ABC News interviewed a former U.S. Marine fighting on the side of Ukraine. He described the situation on the ground as “pretty bad,” with a high number of casualties.
He stated that life expectancy at the frontline at that time was as low as four hours.
The Battle of Bakhmut has been described as a “meat grinder” for both sides, due to Russia’s strategy at the time of launching wave-based infantry assaults to take the city.
The battle lasted nine months, and BBC reported in the spring of 2024 that at least 50,000 soldiers were confirmed dead in the fighting.
Sources: Forbes, Euromaidan Press, The Telegraph, ABC News, BBC
