Putin Pays Families Of National Guards Who Died In Ukraine $81,500

The families of some Russian servicemen who died in Ukraine or Syria will receive financial compensation from the government for their losses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday ordering the payment of 5 million rubles ($81,935) to families of members of Russia's National Guard who died in the two countries, Reuters reported.

Putin announced in early March that the families of Russian servicemen killed during the invasion of Ukraine would be paid statutory insurance coverage and receive a lump sum payment of around 7.4 million rubles ($121,260).

The guard, also known as the Rosgvardiya, is a military force separate from the country's armed forces under Putin's direct control. It was formed in 2016 to fight terrorism and organized crime, but it has reportedly been used instead to crack down on peaceful anti-government protests.

The Russian government officially acknowledged that Rosgvardiya members are among the casualties of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia last released casualty figures from the war in late March, saying that the country’s fatalities and wounded at the time numbered 1,351 and 3,825, respectively.

In contrast, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense claimed Russia suffered 31,250 combat losses among its personnel between the start of the invasion on Feb. 24 and Monday.

The National Guard's deployment from the early stages of the war may have been a sign of misplaced confidence that Russia would quickly seize major Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv, where the force could be used to maintain order, western analysts believed.

Russian forces were forced to retreat from the areas around Kyiv following a failed assault on the capital, and Russia has since focused its attack on Ukraine's easternmost regions.

Russia's military has reportedly suffered poor morale following the invasion.

Soldiers sent to fight in the conflict were required to buy personal equipment at their own expense, a National Guard member alleged.

Around 115 soldiers from the force based in the Russian city of Nalchik got fired after they refused to fight in Ukraine, court documents published in late May showed.

The guardsmen filed a collective lawsuit that challenged their sacking, but a court rejected the complaint and ruled that the soldiers got rightfully fired for "refusing to perform an official assignment."