On January 21, 2026, russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a meeting with members of the russian government regarding the country's demographic policy, emphasizing that achieving results was a key strategic objective facing russia, according to UK Defense Intelligence.
This follows Vladimir Putin's December 8, 2025, statement that "measures that have already been taken in demographic development are insufficient...negative tendencies persist, birth rates continue to decline".
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence Reports on Fivefold Surge, russia Massively Expands Drone War Against Ukraine
Russia's serious demographic problem of an ageing and declining population has been accentuated by the emigration of approximately 1.3 million russians since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including many younger and well-educated russians, coupled with significant russian casualties from the war (likely approximately 1,225,000 killed and wounded so far).
Demographic problems and a declining population present a long-term structural challenge to russian society and the russian economy. The russian leadership's attempts to increase birth rates are highly unlikely to arrest russia's declining population in the short term.
As Defense Express previously reported, since January 2025, russian authorities have intensified pressure on the WhatsApp social messaging platform, reflecting a wider effort to tighten state control over foreign digital platforms and the domestic information environment.
This effort has substantially increased since russia launched its illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the russian state has sought to limit dissent, and criticism of the war.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: Moscow Has Intensified Digital Repression, WhatsApp Is Now Emerging As the Next Major Target
