Russia orders its military to be buried in mass graves to cover up losses in Ukraine

Sunday, 6 March 2022, 05:37

Russia’s Ministry of Defence has ordered that its military be buried in numbered mass graves, particularly in Belarus.

Source: document for "official use," signed by Deputy Minister of Defence of Russia Alexei Krivoruchko, published by the Pivnich [North] Operational Command on Facebook

Details: The document was issued in order to "counteract […] the dissemination of information from the Ukrainian side about the losses of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation through the Telegram channel Shukai Svoyih [Look for your own] controlled by the special services of Ukraine."

Quote: "I demand:

That from 1 March 2022,the bodies of fallen servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are covertly removed  (at night) to permanent base points and that they are buried in a mass grave (including in the Republic of Belarus) with assignment of a number.

If it is impossible to evacuate the bodies from 1 March 2022, measures should be taken to destroy them on the spot."

Background: The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine launched the website 200rf.com (Shukai Svoyih, or Look for your own), where it publishes photos and documents of the dead and captured invaders so that their relatives can find them. In Russia, the website was blocked, but Russians were able to search for their relatives through the Telegram channel of the same name.

Reminder: In late December, Russia created a national standard with instructions for the rapid organisation of mass graves during war or emergencies.