By: Eric Wang

As the war in Ukraine is raging on with no end in sight, it is obvious that there will be casualties and grieving on both sides. This is very apparent in Ukraine, but what about in Russia?

Stories of sons joining the army and then getting killed in Ukraine are widespread, yet also taboo in Russia. The Kremlin buries the grieving families under propaganda and triumphant broadcasts. This shows how the Kremlin is anxious its conscription-based soldier factory doesn’t break down.

However, some stories leak out. Take that of Yevgeny Chubarin, who joined the army against the begging of his mother to not do so. By May 15, he had a gun and was ready to go. The 24-year-old was killed the very next day.

The young are not the only ones killed. 59-year-old Vladimir Krot was an Afghan war veteran and trained pilot. He begged to be enlisted and was given the green light in June. Days later, he and his SU-25 went down in a training flight. He left behind his wife and 8-year-old daughter.

The exact number of dead is a state secret. It is even a crime to question or criticize the military or invasion. Journalists speaking to grieving relatives have been arrested and told that “tears and suffering” was bad for public morale. Several memorial websites have been shut down by the government.

The Kremlin’s priority within its borders is to smother the angry voices of families and anti-war activists. As the New York Times reports, “Information about war dead could deter Russia’s increasingly urgent recruitment effort scraping up prisoners with military experience and offering highly paid contracts for deployments.”

Dmitry Shkrebets was paid a “visit” by internal security agents when he accused the government of lying about how many sailors were killed in the sinking of the Moskva on April 13. His son had been on the ship, and was labeled as “missing.” The agents confiscated Shkrebets’ laptop and accused him of making bomb threats. 111 days after his son’s death, the military finally handed him a death certificate.

Shkrebets wrote in a post, “It will never be easier. There will never be true joy. We will never be the same again. We have become different, we have become more unhappy, but also stronger, tougher. We no longer fear even those who should be feared.”

However, independent analyst Bobo Lo thinks the Kremlin has contained the risk of dissent over casualties. Since many are so cautious about spreading dissent, no major uprising is likely. Politically, Putin has also backed up the war. Lo says this was done “Partly through controlling the information narrative, but also because this is now seen as a war against the West.”

With families afraid to speak out and with no official count, our best guess comes from other sources. Independent news outlet Mediazona counted 5185 dead as of July 29, while the British intelligence agency MI6 says about 15 thousand. The Pentagon reports up to 80 thousand dead.

No matter how many have perished in the invasion, their families will grieve, and they will fear speaking out. In the end, this is just another example of the oppression Russians are facing.

Original Article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1659882392257x399619285853577400/Russian%20families%20grieve%20war%20deaths%20as%20Kremlin%20conceals%20the%20true%20toll%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf

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