Russian soldier: Moscow hiding war death toll to avoid paying families

Moscow is purportedly neglecting to alert family members after a soldier dies in the war with Ukraine to avoid compensating the servicemen's loved ones, according to a phone call intercepted by Ukraine's Military Intelligence.
In a telephone conversation posted to Telegram by Ukraine's Military Intelligence, a Russian soldier can be heard saying that the Kremlin has been listing deceased fighters as "missing" rather than dead to avoid paying compensation.
"I say, it's beneficial for you to tell me he is not missing, so you don't have to pay for him ... You know, we haven't heard from him for a month and a half," the soldier says during the phone call, according to a translation of the call provided by the Kyiv Post.
The Ukraine's Military Intelligence added in its post: "There will be just retribution for every war crime committed against Ukraine."
According to Newsweek, reports have previously surfaced that Russia was finding ways to avoid delivering on its promise to compensate families of its soldiers killed in war. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in January 2023, promising to pay beneficiaries of deceased servicemen 5 million rubles, or $53,800. Troops who are injured on the battlefield qualify for a payment of 3 million rubles or $32,280.
In June 2023, the mother of Russian soldier Mikhail Cherkasov told Radio Liberty that she had been told by Cherkasov's comrades that her son had been killed at war earlier that month. However, Russia's military reportedly ordered to leave Cherkasov's body on the battlefield because it would not be "profitable" to bring him home.
Independent Russian investigative outlet Mozhem Obyasnit said in a report published in December that another Russian soldier who had been severely injured along the front lines had only received two buckets of carrots and a bag of onions from the government instead of the money promised.