School letters that lose life for Russia in Putin’s war with Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has repeatedly promised that none of the 18-year-old children is called to the Russian service to fight Ukraine, but the Russian investigation has found that at least 245 soldiers of that age have been killed there in the last two years.

The new rules of the government mean that the teenagers fresh from school were able to bypass the military service and move directly to the usual army as soldiers.

They can only make part of the Russian losses, but cash bonuses and patriotic propaganda have signed an attractive choice.

Alyaksandr Petlinsky enlisted two weeks after his 18th anniversary.

He was killed in Ukraine only 20 days later: one of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in the full -scale war of Russia in Ukraine which also took away life at least 13,500 Ukrainian civilians Ever since Putin launched the invasion of February 2022.

Aunt Petlinsky Catherine said she dreamed of a career in medicine and won a place at a medical college in Chelyabinsk, an industrial regional center in the Urals.

“But Sasha had another dream,” she said at the school memorial. “When a special military operation began, Sasha was 15. And he dreamed of going to the front.”

In Ukraine, the conscription age is 25.

Russia has managed to avoid national mobilization by offering lush amounts for men of combat age – a particularly attractive deal for those in poor regions with small work prospects.

Initially, the men had to have at least three months of recruiter service under the belts before signing the contract.

This restriction was quietly reduced in April 2023, despite the protests from some deputies, so now any young man who has reached the age of 18 and graduated from school may sign up to join the army.

The Russian education system ensured that they were ready to get ready.

Ever since the full -scale invasion has begun, the teacher has been demanded by the law for conducting classes dedicated to a “special military operation” because the war is officially known.

Soldiers returning from schools to visit the front to talk about their experience, children are taught how to make camouflage networks and candles from the trench, and even students of the children’s school are recommended to send letters and drawings to the line.

At the beginning of the last academic year, on September 1, 2024, a new subject was introduced into the curriculum.

In return to the Soviet era, older students are again taught how to use Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades under the course called “Basics of Security and Protection of the Motherland”.

In many regions, military recruits are now attending career lessons at schools and technical colleges, telling young people how to subscribe as soldiers contracting after graduation.

Vitaly Ivanov grew up in a small village in Siberia and left the college where he learned to be a mechanic.

He got into trouble with the police, and when he was accused of robbing a small shop in November 2024, he complained about his mother and girlfriend that he had been beaten to recognize recognition.

His friend Michael told the BBC that he had always planned to do his military service when he was 18 years old. Then together they went and found the roads in Kazana, the city of about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) to the West.

Instead, he signed a contract for joining the army. His family did not rule out the police “convinced” him.

The day before he left, he called his mother Anna to say he was going to leave.

“I go to the northeastern military area,” he explained.

In other words, he was heading to Ukraine.

He and Alexander reached the front approximately at the same time in February.

The last message welcomed on February 5 to say he was sent to battle.

“It was his first and last combat mission,” says Anna.

A month later, the Gulf office appeared, saying that he had died on February 11.

Within the framework of the permanent Russian project of the BBC using open sources for counting the war in Russia, we identified and confirmed 245 names of 18 -year -old soldiers who died in Ukraine since April 2023 – when the entry rules were reduced – and July 2025.

All of them were enlisted as a contract service and, according to the published necrolora, most voluntarily joined the armed forces.

Overall, according to our studies, at least 2812 Russian men aged 18-20 were killed in Ukraine since the beginning of a full-scale invasion.

BBC figures are based on open source information, and because it is not reported on every death, real losses must be higher.

By the end of July, the BBC created the names of 120 343 Russian soldiers killed during a full -scale war. Military experts have estimated that it is 45-65% of the real death fee, which is equated to 185.143 to 267 500 dead.

When Alyaksandr Petlinki was 18 years old, the first thing he did was apply for a year from college so he could sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense.

Although he wanted to become a doctor, he also dreamed of going to Ukraine.

He was already on the front next month, and on March 9 he died.

“As a citizen of the Russian Federation, I am proud of my son,” said his mother Elena.

“But as a mother – I can’t handle this loss.”

She refused to say more.

His friend Anastasia says that the fact that 18-year-old children are signing contracts for joining the army is now a very “painful topic” for her.

“They are young and naive, and there are so many that they don’t understand,” she says. “They just don’t understand full responsibility for what they do.”