Putin stated that the war is not the main reason for the decline in the birth rate in Russia
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin stated that a full-scale war against Ukraine allegedly has no decisive impact on Russia’s demographic decline.
During a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, he acknowledged that the war does have some impact on the birth rate, but called this factor secondary. As an example, Putin cited Japan and South Korea, where, according to him, birth rates are also low.
According to Rosstat, 1.222 million children were born in Russia in 2024—the lowest figure since 1999. In 2025, the total fertility rate fell to 1.305 children per woman, the lowest level since 2006.
Demographer Alexei Raksha estimates that 1.178 million children were born in Russia in 2025. According to his calculations, approximately 272,000 children were born in the first quarter of 2026—17,000 fewer than during the same period the previous year.
At the same time, the war is having a significant demographic impact due to the losses among Russian troops. According to CSIS estimates, from February 2022 to June 2026, Russian forces lost about 1.4 million personnel, of whom at least 450,000 were killed.
Putin stated that to improve the demographic situation, the government must create additional incentives for families and young women and change societal attitudes toward having children.
Putin claimed two fictitious victories for Russia.
As a reminder, Putin threatened Ukraine with new strikes on its energy infrastructure.
During the summit in Bishkek, the Russian delegation, led by dictator Vladimir Putin, held a meeting with the Chinese delegation, where the Kremlin leader attempted to paint a rosy picture of a shared future for Russia and China to Xi Jinping. But the whole thing turned out to be quite pathetic.
