Relatives of fallen Russian soldiers increasingly complain about non-payment of compensation
Relatives of fallen Russian soldiers claim that soldiers are often registered as missing in action or deserters, preventing families from receiving due compensation.
Russian mobilized soldiers. Illustrative photo: AP
Relatives of Russian servicemen are increasingly complaining about the non-payment of compensation for those killed in the war.
Wives and mothers of Russian servicemen are increasingly writing on social media about problems with receiving payments for those killed in the war against Ukraine. Messages are published in chats and groups associated with pro-government organizations, where relatives try to seek help from the authorities. Bild analyzed tens of thousands of messages from soldiers' families over the past six months.
Relatives of fallen Russian soldiers claim that soldiers are often registered as missing in action or deserters, preventing families from receiving due compensation.
"The prosecutor's office makes no effort. We called everywhere, but the necessary documents often only arrive a year later," one woman wrote in mid-March 2026.
According to current rules, in the event of a serviceman's death, relatives should be paid over 13 million rubles (more than $150 thousand dollars) from the federal budget, as well as additional amounts from the regions. However, payments are only possible after official confirmation of death.
Relatives note that processing documents takes months and years, and in some cases, certificates state "unspecified cause of death" or do not link the death to combat operations.
"No compensation for death, no payment for injuries. The certificate simply states: 'Cause of death unknown'," another woman writes on social media.
Russian independent publications previously reported that it is common practice in the army to consider the dead as missing in action if the body could not be evacuated from the battlefield. In such cases, relatives have to go to court to have the serviceman declared dead, as compensation is not paid without it.
Interestingly, a phenomenon of "black widows" has even emerged in Russia – this is what women are called who, for mercenary reasons, rush to marry soldiers to receive large payments in the event of their death.
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