Families of Russian soldiers killed in Donbas ‘got RUB 3 mln for silence’

"At the end of January the relatives of dead soldiers informally asked Nemtsov to put pressure on the Ministry of Defense to help them get the payments," he said.

"The first wave of coffins went to Russia last summer, when the Ukrainian army went on the offensive and liberated one after the other the towns of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The offensive was halted after the direct intervention of the Russian army," Yashin said.

"When it became impossible to hide the presence of the Russian military in the conflict zone, the Russian Defense Ministry invented a story that they went to fight during their legal vacation," Yashin said.

"However, many people were surprised that an independent investigation was opposed not only by the authorities, but also by the families of the dead soldiers. According to Nemtsov’s sources, this fact can be explained that the relatives received RUB 3 million as compensation. At the same time, they signed a nondisclosure agreement under threat of criminal prosecution," he said.

 

"The second big wave of coffins went to Russia in January and early February 2015, during the conflict in Debaltseve,” Yashin said.

"But this time the relatives did not receive any compensation, as now before going to the Donbas the soldiers did not ‘go on vacation’, as before, but were ‘dismissed from service,’" Yashin said.

"In practice, the relatives have not received any compensation this time. Commanders shrugged and referred to the authorities. The relatives couldn’t officially seek compensation, because the dead soldiers weren’t formally Russian servicemen," he said.