Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin acknowledged that the war with Ukraine affects birth rates but called it a secondary factor. He pointed to Japan and South Korea, where birth rates are lower despite the absence of hostilities.
Putin said there is no single explanation for the decline in births. He noted that post-industrial societies tend to have low fertility, while relatively poorer countries have higher rates. He called demography a matter of national security.
To change the situation, Putin said the state needs to create incentives for families and young women, as well as change "public consciousness" and information policy. He added that Russia managed to reverse the negative trend in the mid-2000s and expressed confidence that this experience would be repeated. Putin also noted that, as in Western Europe, Russian women are having their first child later — at about age 29.
Earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) stopped publishing monthly birth and death data. This came amid a historic decline in births: according to demographer Alexei Raksha, about 272,000 children were born in Russia in the first quarter of 2026 — the lowest figure in nearly 200 years of regular record-keeping.
According to estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Russian forces have lost at least 450,000 people killed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the first half of 2026, monthly Russian losses ranged from 30,000 to 34,000, according to analysts.