“You wanted this land, so now be buried in it.” These are words from “Lullaby for the Enemies”, a song by the Ukrainian singer STASIK, which have become a reality for thousands of Russian military personnel. After launching a full-scale war in Ukraine, the “second army of the world” has kept silent about the number of their deceased since the first days of the invasion and refused to take the bodies so that their relatives could be able to bury them in their “great homeland”.
Did the boy even exist in the first place? Still, Russians are in no hurry to acknowledge their losses.
As of March 28th, approximately 17,000 military personnel have been KIA, according to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. The number continues to grow daily.
The typical communication techniques of the Russian Federation include a fragmented presentation of information, constant reiteration of the Russian army’s valor, and refuting the data provided by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Information about the deaths of Russian soldiers is usually provided by regional media or friends and relatives of the deceased; Russian governmental sources are the last to confirm the loss.
On March 21st, the propaganda media outlet “Komsomolskaya Pravda” published and immediately retracted an article stating that approximately 10,000 servicemen had been killed and more than 16,000 wounded in the war in Ukraine.
On March 25th, Russia stated that only 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed. In the meantime, the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has confirmed that more than 16,000 of the enemy’s personnel have been eliminated.
Crimea. Syria, Donbas. Are you aVaiting? We don't abandon our own.
The number of victims is becoming increasingly difficult to cover up: Ukrainian media outlets are working, the “Cargo 200” Telegram channel is constantly being updated, and Russian soldiers’ relatives have been calling the Come Back Alive hotline since the first hours of its launch.
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The emergence of death gratuity for the family members of the deceased during the so-called “special operation” can be considered as the first step towards the admittance of Russia’s military losses.
If Russians are eager to know more or to speak up about the war, then they should be aware that the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has recently adopted a new article. According to it, any ‘fake’ information about the Russian troops or actions aimed at discrediting the army can result in 3–15 years of imprisonment.
Foreign media outlets had started publishing information about the use of mobile crematoria by the Russian army, so the scale of the real losses would remain unknown.
Ukrainians are forced to bury the deceased Russian soldiers in unmarked mass graves so that the decomposing bodies would not endanger the health of the local residents.
The “Goryushko” (Grief) Тelegram channel publishes data on Russian servicemen who died during the war in Ukraine. This is an unofficial channel and the authors take the information from the open sources.
