Russia has sent at least 200,000 troops to the front since the start of the war in Ukraine. How many fell during the “special operation” remains a mystery. The Kremlin withholds information and does not send fallen soldiers home where they can be buried. “As long as there is no body, there is hope,” relatives are comforted, the Russian news portal “MediaZona” reports.
In September, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (67) released official figures for the first time since March. “Russia’s losses are 5937,” he said. However, this statement contradicts the information accidentally published by the Kremlin-affiliated news portal “Readovka” in April. At that time there were already 13,414 soldiers killed and about 7,000 missing.
The Russian research portal “Istories” has now published the statements of a former officer of the Russian special forces and an active FSB officer of the Russian secret service. According to them, the Russian army has suffered 90,000 casualties since February 24. This includes the dead, but also the missing and wounded who can no longer serve in the military.
Russian soldiers get missing persons status
These figures are comparable to published British intelligence reports. It assumes 80,000 fallen Russians. According to Ukraine, the number of Russian soldiers killed is 63,000.
Russians just leave dead bodies behind
The relatives of the fallen soldiers remain without information. They often don’t know what happens to their loved ones on the battlefield. According to “MediaZone”, relatives sometimes find photos of their deceased deceased via Telegram and social media and thus certainty that their brother, uncle or husband is dead. Officially, the Russian authorities usually say that the soldiers are simply “missing”. Status unclear.
This saves the Russian state money and time. Because: Picking up the bodies of the fallen soldiers and sending them home is quite a bureaucratic effort. If the soldiers are officially dead, there is a death certificate and severance pay. But where there is no corpse, there is no document and therefore no money. And the uncertainty worries many relatives. They often desperately try to find out for themselves what happened to their loved ones. “A lot of people from the unit are missing and the relatives are always told the same thing: ‘As long as there is no body, there is hope,'” a father searching for his son’s body told “MediaZona”.
And it gets even worse: “Even if the soldier’s relatives saw his corpse in a video or photo on the Internet, the state does not recognize him as dead on this basis,” said Sergei Krivenko, director of the Russian human rights organization “Civilians and the army » “A death certificate is required for this.” Only then will the surviving relatives be entitled to benefits and insurance. But the bodies remain missing.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked Russia to retrieve the bodies of the fallen soldiers – without success. (jwg)