Dead Russian revived: There are Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity who are considered dead in their homeland. Their relatives have even managed to bury “remains” in closed coffins.
“There was an exchange of 37 for 37, and my son was among them. The Ukrainians took his head (from the helicopter crash site) — it survived the fire thanks to his helmet,” the father of the victim recalls with tears. — “My son was true to his word: they were able to ‘capture’ only his remains.”
In the spring of 2023, the father of Senior Lieutenant Oleg Farniyev gave this interview to the propaganda TV channel Russia Today. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the helicopter with his son, a navigator, was shot down during a combat sortie in April 2022. After that, Farniyev was reported missing for several months.
Farniyev Sr. searched for his son himself and traveled to the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian army. “He was informed several times that the remains, presumably those of his son, had been found, but DNA tests disproved it each time,” the RT piece says. Finally, in August 2022, the Defense Ministry handed over the remains to the relatives, posthumously awarding navigator Farniyev the Order of Courage. He was buried in his native land of Ossetia.
And in February 2024, Oleg Farniyev appeared in the published list of prisoners of war (under number 166). As IStories found out, his wife immediately appealed to the Defense Ministry for clarification. She claimed that none of his family members had seen Farniyev’s remains: the coffin was forbidden to be opened, and the results of the DNA tests were not shown to the relatives.
Two months later, instead of explanations and test results, the serviceman’s wife received a poor reply from the Defense Ministry: “According to the records, Oleg Olegovich Farniyev was buried with full military honors. The serviceman fulfilled his military duty with dignity and honor, and made a significant contribution to the approaching victory over the Ukrainian nationalists.”
Mistakes happen everywhere. But Farniyev’s case is far from being unique for the Russian army.
Lump sum payment to family is probably cheaper than the wages that accumulate over time.