Train Packed With Russian Soldiers' Dead Bodies Arrives In Russia

Ukrainian servicemen loading bodies of Russian soldiers — Ukrainian servicemen load bodies of killed Russian soldiers to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine STRINGER/Reuters

KEY POINTS

The bodies of Russian soldiers will be delivered to local morgues
It is unclear how many bodies were loaded on the train to Kemerovo Oblast
Russia has reportedly lost more than 111,000 soldiers since February

A train carrying the corpses of dead Russian soldiers arrived in Russia last week, according to a Ukrainian intelligence report.

The train arrived at Kemerovo Oblast in Russia from Rostov-on-Don in the Southern Federal District of Russia on Jan. 5. The bodies are set to be delivered to local morgues, as per a report published on Facebook by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF). The report did not specify how many bodies were loaded on the train.

"Russian occupiers continue to sustain losses. On January 5th, 2023, a train with refrigerators filled with dead bodies of Russian military arrived from Rostov-on-Don to Kemerovo oblast (Russia). The corpses are to be delivered to local morgues," the report read.

The International Business Times could not independently verify the UAF General Staff's reporting.

According to estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russia's military death toll hit 111,170 as of Sunday. The figures include 430 Russian soldiers killed the previous day.

The regular update, which is typically higher than estimates by Western countries, also said that Russia lost 3,069 tanks, 6,130 combat armored machines, 2,065 artillery systems, 1,849 UAVs, and 4,801 vehicles and fuel tanks since the conflict began in February.

The report comes days after Russian families buried at least nine dead servicemen in the central region of Samara on the Volga River. The soldiers were among those killed in a New Year's strike launched by Ukrainian forces targeting the eastern town of Makiivka, The Moscow Times reported, citing local authorities.

Ukraine claimed it killed at least 400 of Russia's draftees and injured 300 others in the missile strike in Makiivka. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, only confirmed the deaths of 63 service members.

The attack in Makiivka is considered one of the deadliest strikes that the Ukrainian army launched against Russian troops since February. It also marked a rare case wherein Russia officially confirmed it suffered substantial losses in the war.