Russian towns forced to crowdfund for body bags as the war drags on

When we think of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many people tend to forget of the tragedies common folk in Russia have to face while fighting in a conflict born out of a whim from their own government.

One of these places is Irkutsk, an oblast (Russia’s equivalent to a state or province) located in Siberia, not far from the border with Mongolia. Over 2 million people live in Irkutsk, with an economy that mostly focuses on metals, logging, and oil.

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.

Although Irkutsk may not seem like a noteworthy place for most people, it has been one of the regions with the biggest numbers of casualties since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Image: Vasiliy Nikitin / Unsplash

The Moscow Times wrote in March 2023 that virtually all the conscripts from Irkutsk from that year had perished in Donetsk fighting off the Ukrainian troops.

Previously, the members of the unit had gone viral for posting a video decrying their lack of training and preparation while being sent to fight on the front.

Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev made headlines in November 2022 when he declared that women’s sons fighting to the front didn’t belong to their mothers, but to the state.

Newsweek writes that the number of military losses native from the Irkutsk region is so high that some local authorities have started crowdfunding to finance body bags to bring their dead back to get a proper burial.

British newspaper The Daily Express highlights that since the start of the war, over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured, according to estimations made by the Ukrainian government.

PBS writes that the casualties from the war in Ukraine have affected Russian minorities in Siberia and the far east in an extensive manner.

Natalia Arno, from the Free Russia Foundation, told PBS that Vladimir Putin’s war machine regards ethnic minorities with few resources and little to no education as mere cannon fodder.

“The more remote they are, the less information they can get, the less human rights organizations working with them and advocating for their rights”, Arno told PBS.

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.

What is happening in Irkutsk is just the situation is one small corner of Russia, but who knows how many similar tragedies are currently going on with no sign to stop any time soon.

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.