Russia has spread a new false story about fallen soldiers
Russian propaganda is spreading a false claim that the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers are allegedly being used to train medical students. Hostile media outlets have distorted the content of the new draft law No. 15517, which in fact explicitly prohibits the use of the bodies of fallen servicemembers and victims of Russian aggression for educational and scientific research purposes.
Russian propaganda outlets have begun spreading yet another piece of disinformation about Ukraine. This time, they claim that Ukrainian authorities allegedly want to allow the bodies of fallen soldiers listed as missing in action to be used for the training of medical students. The fake reports also claim that after such use, the bodies are allegedly planned to be “disposed of as surgical waste.”
These claims do not correspond to the content of draft law No. 15517. It is this document that Russian media used as the basis for their disinformation campaign. In reality, the draft law explicitly prohibits the use of the bodies of certain categories of deceased individuals for educational or scientific purposes.
Specifically, this refers to the bodies of unidentified persons—including those whose identities could not be established—as well as military personnel and members of the security and defense forces who died while performing their duties. Separately, the document prohibits the use for such purposes of the bodies of people who were killed or died as a result of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. In other words, the claims made by Russian propaganda effectively distort the meaning of the document. What the bill explicitly states as a prohibition, propagandists present as an alleged permission.
What’s Wrong with “Surgical Waste”
Another part of the fake news—the claim that human bodies are allegedly “classified” as medical or surgical waste—is also untrue. Under current Ukrainian regulations, the bodies and remains of the deceased are not classified as medical waste. Their handling is governed by other regulations, specifically legislation on burial and funeral services. Therefore, the claim that after being used for training, the bodies of fallen soldiers can simply be classified as “surgical waste” is a fabrication.
Russian propaganda is thus attempting to create the impression that the Ukrainian government allegedly treats fallen soldiers and their families with disrespect. This is not the first instance of such manipulation. Previously, Russian propagandists had already spread a false claim about an alleged proposal to bury fallen Ukrainian soldiers in special biodegradable bags, supposedly to increase soil fertility.
In this case as well, the propaganda scheme follows the same principle: take a real topic or document, take individual provisions out of context, and add fabricated details to them. In the case of Bill No. 15517, the key point is that the document does not permit the use of the bodies of fallen soldiers for training purposes; on the contrary, it explicitly prohibits such use. This is reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.
