Mom Of Dead Russian Soldier Says Son Didn't Know He Was Being Sent To War

The mother of a 26-year-old Russian soldier who was killed in the war in Ukraine said her son, who had not taken part in combat operations before, was unaware that he was going to be sent to the battlefield.

Speaking in an interview with DW.com, the mother, who went by the name Natalya, said her son called her on the phone in late January to tell her that he would be sent to the Russian city of Smolensk for military drills. Upon hearing this, Natalya researched the unrest in Ukraine and dissuaded her son from going to Smolensk, adding that he may not return alive if he pushes through.

“What are you talking about!" the soldier replayed, according to his mother, who suggested that his son might have been brainwashed.

On Feb. 24, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the “special military operations” in Ukraine, the soldier texted Natalya using a fellow soldier’s WhatsApp account telling her that war had broken out. The soldier also added that an entire unit was killed at the border. The soldier was never heard from since then.

Natalya said the Russian government only informed her of her son’s death on March 8, but his death certificate showed he died on Feb. 27. She believes the soldier died between Feb. 24 and 25 when Russian troops attempted to overtake Hostomel.

In the early weeks of the war, the NGO Soldiers’ Mothers Committee said they received hundreds of calls from the families of Russian soldiers who had been deployed to Ukraine to join the invasion. Many of the relatives said their loved ones did not want to fight in the war but were left with no choice. Some callers also said they had no idea that Putin had planned a military operation.

As of March 25, it is estimated that between 7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops have died amid the war. Overall, approximately Russian 40,000 soldiers have been killed, injured, captured or missing during the first four weeks of the invasion, according to a NATO official.