Russia Lost 1.3 Million People Since 2022 Over Ukraine War; 10% Of IT Workforce Left

Russia has lost more than a million of its citizens since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to an intelligence report.

At least 1.3 million Russian citizens have left the country since February 2022 following the country's invasion of Ukraine. These include younger and well-educated citizens previously working in high-value industries.

The exodus has led Russia to suffer from its worst labor shortage since 1998, as per the intelligence report from Britain's Ministry of Defense, which cited a survey conducted by the Russian Central Bank.

The exodus has also massively impacted Russia's IT industry where 10% or 100,000 of all workers left the country last year and did not return.

In addition to high numbers of emigrants, Russia's mobilization efforts and an aging population have also contributed to a shortage of labor supply. The intelligence report said these factors would likely hamper the country's economic growth and possibly stoke inflation.

Hundreds of thousands of military-age men fled Russia in September last year after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization, calling up 300,000 reservists to bolster Moscow's troops in the war in Ukraine. At the time, the price for one-way flight tickets out of Russia shot up, with economy-class flights to Istanbul or Dubai going as high as $9,000.

Other Russian men fled to nearby countries, including Armenia and Kazakhstan, Finland and the Baltic States and countries in Europe.

Apart from leaving the country, some men also harmed themselves to avoid military conscription. One man in the western Russian city of Ryazan who received a draft notice set himself on fire while screaming anti-war statements.

In a similar story, another Russian man had also been recorded shooting the head of a Russian draft office in the Siberian town of Ust-Ilimsk to avoid conscription.

A new exodus could happen again should the Kremlin spark another round of mobilization amid its 14-month-long war in Ukraine.

It is unclear if or when the Kremlin plans to order a fresh wave of mobilization. However, Putin in April signed a new bill into law that allows Russian authorities to issue electronic notices to draftees and reservists, per RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (RFERL).