Original article (in B/C/S) was published on 12/2/2024; Author: Nerma Šehović
Several regional media outlets circulated a claim, sourced from social media rumors, alleging that the Ukrainian army has been secretly burying deceased soldiers in mass graves to evade compensating their families. This unverified assertion gained traction as “news” through a YouTube video produced by an American journalist with a history of disseminating disinformation.
On January 30, 2024, web portal Informer published an article with the following title:
Horror! The terrible act of Ukraine shocked the world! Zelensky’s dark secret finally surfaced, he hid this like a snake’s legs!
The article states:
Ukrainian authorities are putting the names of dead soldiers on the list of missing in order not to pay compensation to their families, American journalist Clayton Morris said in his show Redacted.
According to him, the soldiers were buried in mass graves, and that way their bodies could not be found.
– Hiding these dead soldiers, of course, has another purpose. Have you already understood what that purpose is? It’s not just that they can’t take it all anymore. If people disappear and are not killed, then the government of Ukraine is under no obligation to pay pensions or death benefits to their families – he said.
The journalist emphasized that according to Ukrainian legislation if the death of a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is confirmed, his relatives have the right to compensation, but the Kyiv government circumvents this law, thus hiding the fate of the dead Ukrainians.
The same claims were published by web portals Alo, Lajk and Srbija javlja, as well as on several YouTube channels (1, 2).
Who is Clayton Morris?
According to the Informer article, the claims concerning the concealment of deceased Ukrainian soldiers originate from American journalist Clayton Morris. He shared these claims in a video posted on the Redacted YouTube channel on January 26, 2024. Clayton Morris, a former American television host and real estate consultant and investor, worked for Fox News until 2017. Since leaving Fox News, he has been hosting the online show “Redacted” alongside his wife, Natali.
Morris has been known to disseminate various forms of disinformation, ranging from unfounded conspiracy theories regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccines to disseminating pro-Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine. He has openly supported and justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Morris faces several fraud lawsuits related to his real estate business (1, 2). Following numerous lawsuits and the initiation of a criminal investigation, Morris and his wife relocated to Portugal in 2019.
What are the facts?
Since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the toll of dead and wounded soldiers on both sides has been consistently understated, leaving the exact number of fatalities unclear. Both Ukrainian and Russian authorities have withheld precise figures regarding military casualties, a practice not uncommon in wartime situations.
Various sources have offered their estimates regarding the number of soldiers killed. In August 2023, U.S. officials provided an assessment of the military casualties for both sides, including both killed and wounded soldiers, totaling approximately 500,000. This estimate included around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded.
According to official Ukrainian sources, approximately 23,000 individuals, including both civilians and soldiers, are reported missing. As per the Ukrainian army’s procedures, the families of missing soldiers are required to be notified about their death. Additionally, the brigade to which the missing soldier was affiliated is obligated to initiate an internal investigation into the disappearance’s circumstances, a process expected to last about one to two months. In instances where a soldier goes missing in battle, the family is advised to report the individual to the police as a “person missing under special circumstances.” Following this report, the police commence an investigation and collect DNA samples for comparison with any remains that are discovered. In the event of a soldier’s death, families sometimes receive the body. However, if retrieving the body is not feasible, fellow soldiers provide the family with details regarding the circumstances of their death.
Open Democracy reported in November 2023 about the challenges and incomplete information that families of missing or killed soldiers face while trying to ascertain the fate of their loved ones. The article highlighted the story of Kateryna Dembovska, which Clayton Morris also referenced in his video as “evidence” supporting his claims. Dembovska’s husband went missing in May 2022 amidst the conflict in southern Ukraine. She received information that her husband had been killed in an artillery strike by the Russian army and that his remains were located at the Mikolayev morgue. However, due to inconsistencies and contradictory statements, Dembovska, alongside other family members of soldiers from his brigade, questioned the official narrative. She believes her husband might still be alive and could have been captured by Russian forces. Contrary to what was suggested by Morris, the article did not mention any attempts to “hide” soldiers’ bodies to avoid compensating their families. In fact, Dembovska’s situation, as reported, contradicts Morris’s description, with her holding onto the belief that her husband is alive despite being informed otherwise.
The Ukrainian law firm “Prihodko and Partners” outlines on their website the process required for a family member to apply for compensation following the death of a soldier. To do so, the applicant must provide a death certificate along with documentation detailing the investigation into the death’s circumstances, conducted either by the Territorial Recruitment Center or the military unit to which the deceased soldier was assigned. Based on documented instances from Ukraine, possessing the remains of the deceased is not a prerequisite for issuing a death certificate for soldiers who have died on the front lines.
Additionally, the video produced by Morris includes footage he claims depicts the creation of a secret mass grave for fallen soldiers, allegedly provided by other Ukrainian soldiers. The footage shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers in a forest, placing sacks into a hole, although the contents of these bags are not visible.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of screenshots from the video featured in Clayton Morris’s report, it was discovered that the footage has been circulating on Russian forums and Telegram channels since January 21 of this year, mirroring the allegations made by Morris (1, 2, 3). However, there was no information available regarding the video’s origin, date of creation, or the specific contents of the sacks shown being placed into a hole by a group of Ukrainian soldiers in a forest.
In Ukraine, dedicated units comprising soldiers and volunteers are tasked with the recovery of remains of both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers post-combat. This practice includes collecting the bodies of Russian soldiers for the purpose of potentially exchanging them for the remains of Ukrainian soldiers. It’s estimated that approximately 20 such exchanges have occurred since the conflict began.
There’s significant uncertainty regarding the events at the front lines and the fates of numerous soldiers, both Ukrainian and Russian, remain unknown. However, there’s no substantiated evidence to support the claim that the Ukrainian military is intentionally burying its soldiers in secret mass graves to avoid compensating their families. Such an action would be illogical, especially considering that there have been instances where families received a death certificate necessary for compensation claims, even in the absence of a recovered body.
The narrative, which has been reported in regional media as a verified fact uncovered by an American journalist, is in reality a rumor originating from Russian forums, propagated by the discredited former broadcaster Clayton Morris.
As such, the assertion that President Zelensky’s administration harbors a “dark secret” of concealing the bodies of fallen soldiers in mass graves to dodge compensation payments to their families is assessed as a manipulation of the facts.