Russia Covers Up Massive Deaths By Transporting Corpses In 'Small Stacks, At Night'

The corpses of Russian military personnel are being transported in small batches and only at night in an attempt to disguise Russia's losses in the invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities.

"They [corpses] are taken in small stacks, at night, so that people do not get f--king shocked," a Russian serviceman was quoted as saying in a call that was allegedly intercepted by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Relatives of these deceased service members sometimes receive half-decomposed bodies, who need to be further identified, due to the increased delivery time, the agency said in a statement.

The conversation intercepted by the SBU discussed how the body of a Russian service member named Makeyevich needed to be identified after it took nearly a week to recover him.

"His wife is worried, it's taken six days to bring him," one of the men on the call said.

A Russian company understood to be Makeyevich's had only between 20 to 22 survivors out of 100 men, according to the SBU. Meanwhile, nine of the unit's members refused to fight and signed statements of refusal.

Russia lost nearly 24,000 personnel between Feb. 24, when it started its invasion of Ukraine, and Monday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence claimed in its most recent Russian casualties report.

In contrast, the latest official numbers released by Russia's government in late March claimed that around 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed in combat at that point in the war.

Russia classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, for his part, said Monday that around 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in the invasion.

International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Analysts have cited "heavy" casualties and "very low" morale among Russian troops as the reasons for Russia's lack of success in its invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia still faces considerable challenges. It has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from the failed advances in northeast Ukraine. Many of these units are likely suffering from weakened morale," the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said last week.