Russia hides its bodies - with the help of Belarus

VIEW Russia hides its bodies - with the help of Belarus According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, around 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the war. Putin wants nothing to do with that. Russia is apparently trying to cover up the high number of casualties - with the help of Belarus. Thousands have already died in the Ukraine war. According to Ukraine, the Russians have already lost around 15,000 soldiers. The Ukraine war has already claimed many victims. It is unclear how many soldiers actually lost their lives. There are no reliable figures. Both Russia and Ukraine provide very different numbers of victims. Both the Russian President Vladimir Putin (69) and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (44) say that the opponent has to complain about a much higher number of deaths than oneself. Russians are transported to Belarus The Russians are apparently trying to cover up the number of fallen soldiers. Some of the dead are therefore being transported to neighboring Belarus, as Radio Liberty reports. No wonder: After all, Putin and Belarus ruler Alexander Lukashenko (67) are close friends. They help each other. In February 2021, for example, Putin sent his special police to Belarus to beat up demonstrators who took to the streets against Lukashenko. Now Belarus is helping its big brother Russia. Because of Putin's new censorship law, doctors who talk to the press about the dead soldiers are threatened with immediate dismissal. Many of them have signed non-disclosure agreements. A few days ago, a Russian officer was warned on a talk show in Russia. When he pointed out that many young Russian soldiers were dying in Ukraine, the moderator interrupted him and put him in his place. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to cover up the number of deaths, because various Belarusian morgues are running out of capacity. As the BBC reports, the conditions are so desolate that the dead can no longer even be stored in the cold room. "They rot, stink and are then taken away". Residents of the city of Masyr also observed how dead Russian soldiers were loaded onto trains of the Russian railways to be taken back home. "There were an incredible number of bodies," a resident told Radio Liberty. Some tried to film the event but were prevented from doing so by the military. But not all dead soldiers are brought back to Russia. Thus, in the village of Kamenka, near Masyr, a cemetery was cordoned off. Residents suspect that some of the soldiers are now buried here. What strengthens the suspicion: There is an airfield and military base of the Russians nearby. Residents in the Belarusian city of Gomel also report similar things. The wounded and killed Russians were transported to Belarus in buses with taped windows. From there, the dead are then flown to Russia. Another way to keep the number of fallen soldiers a secret: mobile crematoria. Shortly after the beginning of the war, there was speculation as to whether such would be used. However, it is not clear whether mobile crematoria are actually used by the Russians. In general, a lot is unclear, especially when it comes to the number of deaths. These should always be viewed with caution, as Alexander Graef from the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg explains. "It is impossible for third parties to check these in detail, but the truth is probably somewhere in the middle," he says to the "Tagesschau".