CONVOY OF THE DEAD: Kiev’s Mendacious Pretext to Disown Its Fallen Soldiers

Arnaud Develay 
21st Century Wire 

Commentators are wont to pin the proverbial ‘turning point” of any given conflict on the outcome of a particular battle, the advent of a new weapon system, or even some palace coup which sees the new authorities realizing that the time to negotiate in good faith has finally come to ensure there’s a country left for them to rule over.

What has transpired these past few weeks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in relation to questions bearing on humanitarian law, might just swell into a tidal wave which will ultimately see the obliteration of the clique hunkered down in Kiev.

Istanbul 2.0

Against the backdrop of drug-induced contradictory statements on the need for an unconditional thirty-day ceasefire, the green camouflage-clad Ukrainian delegation finally showed up, with a fresh new memorandum in hand, which on its face demonstrated a complete disconnect from reality in relation to the current military situation.

To make a long story short, the parties stand miles apart on almost every points, be it territories, NATO membership, NATO troops deployment, post-war army size, respect for Russian-speaking minorities etc.

As a way to ingratiate themselves to Donald Trump, the Ukrainian delegation agreed to at least engage in discussions bearing on prisoner swaps. To that effect, Russia offered a 3 days lull in the fighting so as to be able to retrieve the countless bodies that have littered the battlefield.

The Graveyard on Wheels

As per discussions held in ISTANBUL on June 2^nd, Ukraine relented on the basic premise to negotiate with Russia on issues pertaining to humanitarian law.

MOSCOW proceeded to provide KIEV with a list of names referring to UKRAINE’s fallen soldiers. KIEV then refrained from making any statement – a deafening silence, but a tacit approval (as is usually the case in ALL TYPES of legal matters).

MOSCOW then proceeded to inform KIEV that it could retrieve its dead at an agreed-upon rendez-vous point near the border where an estimated 1200 bodies would be awaiting in refrigerated motorized storing units.

(Image credit: Arnaud Develay for 21WIRE) 

(Image credit: Arnaud Develay for 21WIRE) 

(Image credit: Arnaud Develay for 21WIRE) 

On June 8^th, the agreed-upon date for the retrieval as suggested by MOSCOW (again with tacit silent approval from KIEV), four eighteen-wheelers were parked waiting to deliver their grisly cargo….except that KIEV never sent anyone!

Eventually, Kiril BUDANOV, UKRAINE’s all-powerful intelligence chief lamely conceded that the retrieval would occurr sometimes “next week”.

As of this writing, RUSSIA has gone on record saying it holds an estimated 6,000 corpses.

At the rate of attrition and based on testimonies from volunteers (from Ukraine) whose job was to collect the bodies, it could be more.

VIDEO: Russian refrigerated lorries align at body exchange point near the border in Russia’s Bryansk region (Credit: Arnaud Develay) 

 

The Worst-Kept Secret This Side of the Dnieper

Many have wondered aloud about the reasons behind KIEV’s stubborn refusal to even communicate on the matter.

One reason is that KIEV fundamentally feels that these exchanges would dramatically contradict the official version that UKRAINE has lost a grand total of just 43,000 troops, and only 370,000 wounded, when numerous reports clearly exhibit a whoppingly disproportionate ratio of attrition.

Another reason has to do with the potential for social unrest if the Ukrainian population was to be informed via word of mouth that a substantial cargo of their loved ones is inside the country.

Would KIEV risk facing popular discontent at the collection centers? Not likely if one understands that ZELENSKY has completely cut off the country from outside news sources and predicated his political survival on complete control of the narrative.

Last but not least, KIEV is simply not able and/or willing to pay compensation to the families of soldiers killed in action. If the government ever pays out compensation to the families, the total amount for just this 6,000 dead Ukrainians, in US dollars would be in the hundreds of millions, or billions. Likewise, if the true total of dead soldiers throughout the conflict is ever calculated, the financial numbers would be staggering, and easily enough to bankrupt the state for decades to come.

Undoubtedly for KIEV, suppressing the casualty count is essential in order to keep the much Ukrainian public on board with the war effort. By the same token, promises of large payout to families of dead or injured soldiers is a strong recruiting tool in order for families to evaluate the risks of offering up their young men to the frontlines. This means that the ZELENSKY government is heavily incentivized, both political and financially, not to immediately verify all dead Ukrainian soldiers from the battlefield.

UKRAINE is notorious for its corruption and to the extent some monies were initially allocated to cover these types of expenses, it is likely that most of it has simply vanished in luxury purchases cars, jewellery and swanky homes abroad. This could easily evolve into one of the biggest scandals of this conflict, and certainly a public relations nightmare for Zelensky and his inner circle. 

The Tacit Complicity of the ICRC

As of this writing, 21^st CenturyWire has solicited the Ukrainian branch of the International Red Cross Committee for a statement of condemnation of the blatant violations by KIEV of its own obligations to abide by the provisions of the Geneva Convention and customary Humanitarian law, including preserving the “dignity of the dead” and “informing the families about the fate of their loved ones”. So far, we have been met with a wall of silence.

Why haven’t you publicly condemned Ukraine’s refusal to abide by its IHL obligations to retrieve the bodies of its soldiers killed in the battlefield as per Istanbul? pic.twitter.com/KRv9d0J1oq

— InvictusLex (@invictus_l36214) June 10, 2025

Update: On Wednesday June 11th, the transfer of 1,212 Ukrainian dead soldiers took place. In exchange, the Russian Federation recovered a total 27 of its own fallen. The ICRC was present during the exchange. From this, one may note the incredible disparity in the ratio of dead Ukrainian and Russia soldiers is no less than 45 to 1, lending further credence to the probability that there are in fact many more underreported battlefield losses on the Ukrainian side – which could amount to one of the largest political cover-ups in the history of modern conflict.

***
Author Arnaud Develay is a lawyer specializing in international criminal law. He began his career in 2005 under the mentorship of former US Attorney General RAMSEY CLARK, representing former Iraqi President SADDAM HUSSEIN and his companions before the Tribunal set by the US Occupation of the country. He went on to part in the defense of ILITCH RAMIREZ SANCHEZ (AKA CARLOS), former Moldovian Vice-Prime Minister Iurie ROSCA and certain figures in the YELLOW VEST movement. He finally spent over two years in the Syrian Arab Republic, reporting on the deleterious effects of the sanctions regime imposed on this country following the publication of the so-called CESAR “report” in the USA, and the insertion of a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020. See his archive here.

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