Russia: Media Pressured Not to Report Soldiers’ Deaths – ‘Do Not Issue Now’, Relatives Tell

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, information about Russian casualties has been scarce.

While the Ukrainian government now claims that more than 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, Russian authorities have acknowledged that the death toll was just under 500 on March 2 and denied yesterday’s hacking of a Russian newspaper that reported nearly 10,000 dead.

The Russian edition of the BBC conducted a detailed investigation, confirming the names and ranks of 557 Russian soldiers and officers killed in Ukraine, using social media and local announcements, as well as talking to relatives.

The investigation found that 15 of Russia’s 85 regions had not released any information on local soldiers killed in Ukraine.

But in one such area – the Kemerovo region of Siberia – BBC Russian (with the help of locals who asked not to be named) identified the identities and burial sites of seven soldiers and officers.

Hours after the BBC investigation was published, Kemerovo authorities announced that 13 soldiers had been buried in the area since the start of the war.

However, there are signs of growing pressure on local journalists – some previous reports of soldiers killed in battle have been deleted.

A Siberian journalist told the BBC: “At the regional government level, all local media outlets have been instructed not to report casualties in Ukraine. There have been cases where local officials have pressured relatives of the victims not to they ask a lot “They say: ‘We do not need to make a fuss now, we will find a way to mention your boys later’.