Russia pleading with 60-year-olds to 'volunteer' for army after heavy Ukraine losses

Russia has resorted to pleading with 60-year-old volunteers to sign up after suffering heavy losses since the start of its war in Ukraine.

The military is recruiting former soldiers near civilian retirement in Chelyabinsk and Tyumen, two Siberian cities, according to Russian state media.

It is understood that tank commanders, snipers and engineers are among the most sought after positions after a series of strategic blunders have left them short on the front line, The Times reported.

It comes as Russia plunged to new desperate measures in an attempt to continue its brutal war with its neighbour by calling up 60,000 reservists, mainly from ethnic minority groups, as well as drafting some 134,500 new conscripts.

A destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier (APC) is pictured on the central square of the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)

The use of conscripts in the Russian president Vladimir Putin's bloody and violent war has been controversial with many inexperienced young men already killed or captured by Ukrainian forces.

Conscripts are men aged between 18 and 27, who typically serve for one year but defence experts have said teenagers are being sent to the "slaughterhouse", prompting the Kremlin to U-turn and promise not to send new recruits into the heat of battle.

However, it has since been reported that Putin plans to send 130,000 new conscripts to fight in Ukraine as Russia gets increasingly desperate for boots on the ground.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Putin has signed over 130,000 new conscripts into the Army.

“The timing aligns with previous Spring drafts but we think that’s an unusually high number.

A Ukrainian soldier checks the wreckage of a burnt Russian tank outside of the village of Mala Rogan, east of Kharkiv (AFP via Getty Images)

“We do think there’s a realistic possibility these conscripts will be sent into Ukraine, even though the Russian MOD have said only professional soldiers will go to Ukraine.”

They added Russia is deploying forces from Georgia, which it invaded in 2008. The official said: “Russia is redeploying elements of the forces that are in Georgia to reinforce the invasion of Ukraine.

“We don’t think that this was planned, it’s a very odd thing for the Russian military to do. So we suspect it’s indicative of the problems they are having in Ukraine.”