Amplifying panic by inflating casualty figures and claiming the “concealment” of fallen soldiers

What it claims

Ukrainian military casualties are portrayed as catastrophic and reaching millions to provoke despair regarding the state's ability to defend itself. Simultaneously, accusations are spread about the intentional concealment of fallen soldiers' bodies from their families to avoid payouts and hide the true scale of the tragedy.

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

• Total losses of the Ukrainian army have approached the 2.5 million mark, and the authorities are hiding these figures.

  TASS, 7 Aug 2026

  tass.com/defense/2169933

• In the last 24 hours alone, Russian forces eliminated nearly 1,400 Ukrainian soldiers during strikes on logistics centers.

  TASS, 6 Aug 2026

  tass.com/politics/2169721

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Goal

Demoralize Ukrainian society, undermine trust in the military command, and provoke social tension among the families of service members.

Techniques used

• Exaggeration or MinimisationClaims of “2.5 million” casualties, which is many times higher than any realistic estimates.
• Appeal to Fear / PrejudiceIntimidating relatives with claims that the bodies of their loved ones are buried without examination and not returned home.

The real grievance it exploits

The fear of losing loved ones at the front and the profound pain of families searching for the missing or waiting for the return of their heroes' remains.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: The aggressor uses “shock figures” tactics to paralyze the will to resist. Inventing million-scale losses has nothing to do with reality and aims to create an illusion of inevitable defeat.
• Reframe: Ukraine adheres to international procedures for identifying the fallen, including DNA testing, whereas it is Russia that often refuses to collect its soldiers' bodies or delays exchange processes.

Sources (all time)

• TASS (X)Tier 260,000 followers
  1 post · 11 Aug 2026

  • 11 Aug · x.com/tassagency_en/status/2086932334800961723
• TASSTier 2~1.2M monthly visitors
  7 posts · 6–19 Aug 2026

  • 19 Aug · tass.com/defense/2175311
  • 19 Aug · tass.com/world/2175285
  • 19 Aug · tass.com/world/2175277
  • 11 Aug · tass.com/world/2171465
  • 11 Aug · tass.com/world/2171419
  • 7 Aug · tass.com/defense/2169933
  • 6 Aug · tass.com/politics/2169721
• SouthFrontTier 1~330K monthly visitors
  9 posts · 5–15 Aug 2026

  • 15 Aug · southfront.press/ukrainian-counterattacks-fail-in-dnepropetrovsks-grey-zone/
  • 13 Aug · southfront.press/grim-arithmetic-russia-and-ukraine-conduct-another-body-exchange-of-2026/
  • 12 Aug · southfront.press/ukraine-eastern-front-under-relentless-pressure/
  • 10 Aug · southfront.press/ukrainian-mig-29-crashed-in-odessa-videos/
  • 10 Aug · southfront.press/pocket-near-volchansk-closes/
  • 8 Aug · southfront.press/ukraine-admits-losing-yet-another-helicopter/
  • 8 Aug · southfront.press/ukraine-is-losing-the-infrastructure-war/
  • 6 Aug · southfront.press/russian-missiles-launched-a-massive-strike-on-kyivs-logistics-and-distribution-centers/
  • 5 Aug · southfront.press/europes-climate-trap-rivers-run-dry-and-ukraines-supply-lines-break-down/