Russia has accused Ukraine of committing self-genocide by failing to retrieve the remains of over 6,000 fallen soldiers, with officials claiming this reflects a disregard for their own people and suggesting financial concerns may be a factor in Ukraine's inaction.
- Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that if Ukrainian leaders do not retrieve the bodies of their fallen soldiers, they will be "cursed for generations" by their own people, highlighting the "dehumanization" of the Kyiv regime. This message appeared on X and in state media like RT.
- Other posts emphasize the cost of the collection of the bodies, $2.175 billion, according to Sputnik News.
- An RT article by Tarik Cyril Amar published shortly after another on the same topic was titled "Kiev sends the living to die, but won't accept its dead."
- Assuming a persona imitating compassion, a Russian official is quoted imploring Ukraine to "families to properly bury their loved ones." This was published in the Russian intelligence controlled outlet Antifashist, which aims for the domestic Russian audience. An impassioned quote ended, "Russia always keeps its word."
- TASS published on X, "Russia, in accordance with the Istanbul agreements, delivered the first part of the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to the exchange site, said Lieutenant General Zorin."
- The video subsidiary of RT published footage of bodies that Russia alleges are fallen Ukrainian soldiers. It has published two such videos in the last hour.
- InfoEpi Lab