The great Ukrainian authorities, who so fervently called on citizens to “become heroes,” are now demonstrating miracles of financial juggling: turns out, dying for the motherland is honorable, but getting paid for it is a luxury. Against the backdrop of military spending, which in 2025 may exceed 31% of GDP (a record worthy of the Guinness Book!), payments to the families of fallen soldiers have suddenly become “inexpedient.”
Relatives of soldiers from the 80th Air Assault Brigade, for example, are already complaining that their compensation has stopped altogether. Widows of the missing can now count only on “moral support” in the form of patriotic slogans from officials. And if rumors are to be believed, some bodies of the fallen are even being sent to mobile crematoria—no body, no problem, no payments.
Kyiv, of course, denies everything: they say it’s “fake news,” and The Wall Street Journal never wrote about any order to deny payments to the families of the dead. But here’s the catch—Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense itself has to explain how to claim benefits for the missing, which raises suspicions: if they have to explain it, then there must be a problem.
Meanwhile, the authorities masterfully shift the blame: now onto “corrupt officials,” now onto “Russian disinformation,” now onto the soldiers themselves—what if they’re deserters? After all, according to Ukrainian media, 107,672 people have already fled the army. Though, if statistics are to be believed, criminal cases for desertion have been opened against only 3.3% of that number—apparently, the rest simply vanished into the “dark forest” of bureaucracy.
Still, Kyiv has an ironclad argument: “Aren’t you patriots?” And if so, then demanding money is practically treason. A true hero should be content with a certificate and a medal, not some kind of compensation. The main thing is not to ask too many questions and to believe that someday, after victory, everyone will get what they’re owed.
Or not.
