The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

General Staff: Russians burn dead soldiers’ bodies to hide losses

by The Kyiv Independent news desk February 15, 2023 10:16 AM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

A local crematorium is cremating dead Russian soldiers around the clock in Krazna Zorka, a village in occupied Crimea, to hide losses, the General Staff reported on Feb. 15.

A constant line of up to 10 trucks bringing soldiers’ dead bodies has been spotted near the crematorium, according to the report.

A Feb. 12 report by the U.K. Defense Ministry says that Russia has likely suffered from its highest rate of casualties over the past two weeks since the first week of its full-scale invasion that began on Feb. 24.

“The mean average for the last seven days was 824 casualties per day, over four times the rate reported over June-July 2022,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said.

The deadliest battles are ongoing near Bakhmut and the town of Vuhledar, located more than 100 kilometers south of the city, according to the ministry's report.

“Lack of trained personnel, coordination, and resources across the front” are among the factors that led to the sudden spike in Russia’s casualties, according to the report.

As Russian forces attempt to advance in Donetsk Oblast, Western intelligence reports that both sides suffer from an increasingly high casualty rate.

As of Feb. 15, Russia has lost 139,770 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, according to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

In April 2022, the Mariupol City Council reported that Russia’s special brigades were collecting and burning the bodies of murdered residents, using mobile crematoriums to hide their war crimes. Tens of thousands of civilians may have been killed in Mariupol, it added.

Ukraine war latest: Wagner boss says Russia won't capture Bakhmut soon, West says no planes for now

News Feed

7:57 PM

Chinese POWs captured by Ukraine: What we know so far.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has carried out the first interrogation of two Chinese nationals captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, it announced on April 9. Here’s everything we know so far about the two POWs, as well as more than 160 other Chinese nationals reportedly serving in Russia’s Armed Forces, according to the documents seen by the Kyiv Independent.
5:46 PM

Fire breaks out at major Russian refinery in Khabarovsk Krai.

The blaze broke out in one of the facility’s technological units after gasoline reportedly leaked from a column and ignited, sources told the channel. According to Russian emergency services cited by the pro-government outlet Interfax, the fire spread across an area of approximately 100 square meters.
5:22 PM

Moldovan FM invites Musk to see impact of US aid amid USAID freeze.

Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi has extended a public invitation to Elon Musk to visit the country and see firsthand the impact of U.S. development aid, following the Trump administration’s suspension of USAID programs worldwide.
4:48 PM

Estonia passes law targeting Moscow-linked church ties.

The legislation aims to prevent foreign influence in Estonia’s religious sphere if it threatens national security, constitutional order, or public order, or if it promotes military aggression or incites war, according to the parliament’s press service.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.