Russia wants to tempt back the talented youth who ditched it for invading Ukraine, but hasn't figured out how, report says

• Thousands, if not millions, of Russians have fled the country since it invaded Ukraine last year.
• Russian officials are now trying to get them to return, The Moscow Times reported.

Russia is trying to get young, skilled workers who fled the country over its invasion of Ukraine to come back, but so far hasn't been able to do anything effective, according to a new report by The Moscow Times.

There is no official figure for how many Russians have left the country since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but estimates range between the hundreds of thousands to several million. Experts described it as a huge brain drain that is harming its economy.

Some industries were particularly affected: More than 70,000 IT workers had fled the country by April 2022, just two months after the war started.

Now Russian officials are trying to lure them back, The Moscow Times reported. But the outlet said their intentions and public pleas have not been matched by any actual incentives.

And at the same time, some in Russia want to punish people who left, considering them traitors. One politician suggested that Russians who come back should be investigated for treason, the report highlighted as an example.

The Kremlin's focus is on getting back young, educated workers, as it considers the effect of them leaving the country to be a national security issue, The Moscow Times reported.

Russia says lots of citizens have come back already. President Vladimir Putin said in June that half of the Russians who left had returned, though there are no hard statistics to substantiate the claim.

The Moscow Times reported that this prompted more Russian officials to make new open calls for citizens to come back.

And Russia's digital-development minister said that a program to bring back IT specialists that was floated last year wasn't needed in the end as citizens were returning themselves.

Russians who fled have cited their moral opposition to the war, the impact of sanctions on their industries and jobs, or their fear of being called up to the fight.

The number of Russians fleeing soared in September, when the government began conscripting some parts of the population.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in September that the number of Russians who fled that month was bigger than the army it first sent to invade Ukraine.

Some Russians who left said they've faced hostility in other countries after people realized where they were from.

This, as well as the difficulties in living and earning enough money abroad, were cited as reasons why some Russians said they've gone back home.