A way to demoralize one’s own fighting forces reportedly is in use by the Russian military as its invasion of Ukraine continues.
If so, what Russia is doing serves a twofold purpose—to hide the number of casualties Moscow has suffered in its war with Ukraine, and to hide evidence of non-military deaths for which it is responsible. In fighting an earlier war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), Russia—then the former Soviet Union—embarked upon a similar strategy to hide the true impact of its troop losses. However, what it is said to be doing in Ukraine represents a new low in pursuing that objective.
To avoid stirring up criticism among the Russian public during the Afghan war, Moscow did not send its wounded back home. Instead, it used hospitals located within the countries of its Warsaw Pact allies. Meanwhile, its dead were returned home in sealed, zinc-lined coffins. Such coffins were used to prevent families from opening them and viewing the remains. This was done by the government due to concerns that families viewing the disfigurement of a loved one would obviously be upset, sparking criticism of the war. One mother is said to have allegedly tried using a screwdriver to open her son’s coffin to see him one last time but was unsuccessful in doing so.
Distressing too during the Afghan war for those Soviets—both military and civilian who could identify them—was the sight of the “Black Tulip” flights, the An-12 transport planes carrying the bodies home. Such flights were observed either as they took off from Afghanistan or landed in Moscow.
Due to the effort to conceal casualty numbers, the best estimate is that, during its ten year war in Afghanistan, the Soviets suffered between 14,500 to 26,000. In addition to at least 9,500 battlefield deaths, others later died of wounds, accidents or diseases. As the Afghan war took a toll on the Soviet economy and tarnished the image of the Soviet army as an invincible fighting force, it contributed to the country’s eventual collapse. The conflict has since been dubbed as “the Soviet Union’s Vietnam.”
But as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its forces are said to have brought with them the immediate means for disposing of their dead—the sight of which undoubtedly has to be most chilling to its soldiers. This time, to hide the casualty count, mobile crematoria have purportedly been accompanying the invading forces.
This is most revealing about Russian tactics. Not only does the mobile crematoria policy hide the fact unsound military tactics are responsible for such a high casualty rate but it also hides the number of Ukrainian civilian deaths, in an effort to avoid leaving behind any evidence to justify possible war crime prosecution later.
It is estimated that, currently, Russia has committed 60% of its ground forces to the Ukraine war. For its young soldiers—many of whom have been drafted and under-trained—the sight of such mobile crematoria following in their footsteps obviously does nothing to motivate them, only adding to their fears.
Undoubtedly, these crematoria are not used to dispose of the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers as Moscow wants Kyiv to know the price it is paying in human casualties for not capitulating to Russia. With North Korea contributing 12,000 soldiers to Russia’s war effort (and possibly sending 18,000 more), it is unknown whether its dead are also being disposed of via the crematoria.
During the Vietnam war, Pyongyang sent a squadron of pilots to assist North Vietnam. Every North Korean pilot that engaged a U.S. pilot died, while flying North Vietnamese planes. The toll of this “help” was too costly for Hanoi, which asked the North Korean pilots to return home. But twelve of those pilots were buried in Vietnam (later repatriated)—all undergoing rather macabre funeral rituals. Thus, North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine may similarly be buried , initially at least, on foreign soil, helping Pyongyang avoid accountability at home.
In both 2000 and 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said about the Soviet Union’s fall in 1991: “Anyone who doesn’t regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.” Despite this, he has re-established the type of governmental control leaders of the former Soviet Union savored.
In 2005, Putin suggested the Soviet Union’s collapse was the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” as “tens of millions” of ethnic Russians suddenly found themselves living outside Russian territory in newly independent countries. Calling it a “genuine tragedy” for the Russian people, it was obviously this mindset that caused him to invade Ukraine in 2022 to reclaim territory lost by the Soviet Union’s collapse.
With the Ukraine war now in its 43rd month, from a territorial perspective, Moscow has little to show for its misadventure as it currently controls only about 12% of the country. This has come at the cost of the lives of an estimated one million Russian soldiers. However, Russia has a long history of a willingness to make tremendous human sacrifices to further its strategic goals.
Russia has also lost thousands of tanks. This hardware cost was evident during its 2024 Liberty Day parade. Russia has always treasured showmanship, commemorating such events by parading row after row of tanks. However, for the first time, such a commemoration displayed only a single tank. And, most embarrassingly, Russia has lost at least two dozen Black Sea Fleet ships at the hands of a country never considered much of a maritime threat. All this raises the question of how much longer Putin can keep up the fight against a smaller but determined foe.
One wonders, as the subject of peace talks is aired, whether Putin has reflected back on how the war in Afghanistan contributed to the Soviet Union’s fall and that the Ukraine war could well contribute to his own demise. Should such a fate befall him violently, the good news is a mobile crematorium unit would immediately be available which, having been good enough for Russia’s fallen in Ukraine, is good enough for Putin as well.
Image from Grok.