The families of Russian soldiers killed in the conflict are entitled to a sum of money from Vladimir Putin’s government as a form of compensation. But in a strange propaganda show, a Russian state broadcast has attempted to show the “benefits” of losing a child to Putin’s war.
BBC Monitoring journalist Francis Scarr wrote on Twitter: “You couldn’t make this up.
“Last night Russian state TV ran a report on the unexpected ‘benefits’ of having your son killed in Ukraine.
“You can buy a Lada with the compensation given to you by the state!”
Russian English-language outlet Meduza then reported that a state-owned television channel broadcast the story of Staff Sergeant Alexey Malov, who was killed early on in the war.
The father of the deceased tank commander told the report that the family bought a “brand new car” in “memory of our son”.
The Lada car was purchased with so-called “coffin money”, paid from the government to the family of the deceased.
The exact figure for Russian casualties in Ukraine is not known but is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
The head of the British armed forces said on Monday that around 50,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion began in February.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Sky News in April how the fatalities were a “huge tragedy for us”.
But as the Russian forces suffer painful losses, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported the Kremlin was offering prisoners in St Petersburg’s jails their freedom in exchange for service.
The MoD said last week that Moscow was turning to “non-traditional recruitment” as it looked to beef up its decimated ranks.
The convicts are believed to be offered a place in the notorious Wagner Group of mercenaries.
The MoD wrote on Twitter: “Russian Armed Forces’ personnel shortages may be forcing the Russian MOD to turn to non-traditional recruitment.
“This includes recruiting personnel from Russian prisons for the Wagner Private Military Company.
“If true, this move likely indicates difficulties in replacing the significant numbers of Russian casualties.”
The relatives of inmates told Russian outlet iStories that prisoners were offered around 200,000 rubles, or just shy of £3,000, if they could survive six months “voluntary” service.
The family member said: “He was told not everyone will come back alive.”
They added: “If they die, the family will be paid five million rubles (£72,000).
“All of this is just words. It’s not written anywhere.”