Russia is deliberately misclassifying soldiers who go missing in action as deserters in order to downplay its losses in Ukraine and deny families access to state compensation, according to a new investigation.
The report, published July 28 by Russian independent outlet IStories, details how this practice allows military leadership to obscure the real death toll from the ongoing war and to sidestep financial obligations owed to next of kin. Though both Ukraine and Russia rarely disclose official casualty counts, Ukraine's General Staff said Russian losses have reached over 1,050,000, including killed, wounded, and missing, Kyiv Independent reported.
