A russian soldier born in 2007 has been killed for the first time on the battlefield in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian ZAXID.NET media asset, the student, Alexander Petlinskyi from Chelyabinsk, was reported dead by the russian Mediazona independent media platform. The latter referred to a post by the Movement of the First pro-governmental youth organization on the russian VKontakte social network.
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No further details about Alexander Petlinskyi’s death have been provided. It’s only noted that he died on March 9, 2025, reportedly KIA (Killed in Action). Petlinskyi was born on January 31, 2007, and studied at the Chelyabinsk Medical College. How exactly did he end up in Ukraine remains unclear.
Mediazona clarifies that Petlinskyi is not the first 18-year-old russian soldier to die in Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Forces have eliminated at least 2,000 russian invaders aged 18 to 20. However, Petlinskyi was born later than most as he was only 15 years old when russia launched its full-scale invasion. He is considered the first russian soldier born in 2007 to be confirmed KIA.
According to the russian independent media, most russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are between 33 and 36 years old.
As Defense Express reported earlier citing Ukraine’s General Staff, russia had lost over 905,000 soldiers either killed or wounded, by March 25, 2025.
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