Russia-Ukraine War: Remains of Russian Soldiers Abandoned, Rot in Kyiv as Veterans Group Calls Vladimir Putin's Operation a "Failure"

Russia-Ukraine War: Remains of Russian Soldiers Abandoned, Rots in Kyiv as Veterans Group Calls Vladimir Putin's Operation a "Failure" — Fallen Russian soldiers' remains are left to rot in the streets in Kyiv amid Russia's botched invasion, while veterans group urges Vladimir Putin to declare war against Ukraine. Anastasia Vlasova/ Getty Images

As forces fled from the region during the opening stages of Vladimir Putin's so-called "special operation" in Ukraine, the remains of Russian soldiers were left to decay in the streets near Kyiv.

Reports have shown considerable casualties for the Moscow military as the battle enters its fourth month since Russian troops invaded its southern neighbor. In the violent fight, Ukrainian defense forces have killed up to 23,000 Russian troops, many of them young conscripts.

Russian Veterans Group Urges Putin To Declare War on Ukraine

The corpses of Russian servicemen have been discovered near Kyiv, weeks after departing the area and focused efforts on eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region. According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow has shown little interest in repatriating its troops' dead.

Experts believe the remains of Russian servicemen were buried to conceal proof of the Kremlin's precise casualties. According to reports, up to 137 bodies in white bags have been seen packed in a refrigerated mobile morgue on a train towards Kyiv's outskirts. Attempts are now being made to identify the decomposing corpses by examining artifacts and clues left on the bodies, Express reported.

The Ukrainian military's devastating defeat of a large Russian force attempting to cross a river in eastern Ukraine, along with other serious Russian losses, has sparked growing criticism among pro-Russian milbloggers and commentators, including a Russian veterans group that is now urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare war on Ukraine and mobilize additional forces.

According to a recent analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research organization, the All-Russian Officers Assembly stated in a letter on May 19 that Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine has failed to achieve its objectives and urged Putin to recognize that the invasion of Ukraine is no longer about denazify the country but about fighting for Russia's existence and place in the world order.

The pro-Russia veteran's organization declared that Putin's large-scale invasion of Ukraine was a "disaster" and that Russia must prepare for a full-fledged war. According to the New York Times, the Russian military's botched effort to bridge the Siversky Donets River earlier this month may have been one of the worst episodes of the war, with scores of armored vehicles destroyed and more than 400 Russian soldiers killed or wounded.

The All-Russian Officers Assembly's caustic commentary in the aftermath of the battle suggests that news of this disaster and other Russian errors are escaping through the Kremlin's carefully managed information bubble. According to ISW, pro-Kremlin military bloggers are increasingly critical of the Kremlin, as per Business Insider.

Vladimir Putin Visits Russian Soldiers at a Hospital

Vladimir Putin has paid his first visit to injured Russian soldiers as part of a new public relations campaign to rally support for the faltering Ukraine war effort. In a Moscow hotel Putin, dressed in a white coat, conducted a brief conversation with the two troops while accompanied by their physicians. After asking where they were from, the dictator assured both men that 'all will be OK,' even though their family had not seen them.

The public relations strategy comes as Russia's president authorized 10% increases in pensions and the minimum wage on Wednesday to protect Russians against inflation. Despite this, he maintained that the country's economic issues were unrelated to the Ukraine conflict.

Last month, with annual inflation reaching 18%, the Kremlin leader conceded that 2022 will be a challenging year for the Russian economy. His remarks missed the reality that growing inflation in Western nations is a direct result of Russia's war in Ukraine, which has driven up oil and food costs throughout the world.

The pension rise takes effect on June 1, while the minimum wage increase takes effect on July 1. According to analysts, the efforts will not avoid a severe drop in real incomes.

Putin, whose favor rating has risen by more than ten points since the start of the Ukraine campaign to 82%, according to an April survey conducted by the independent Levada Centre, committed in March to decreasing poverty and inequality this year despite crushing Western sanctions and soaring inflation, according to Daily Mail.