They were never there: Russia's silence for families of troops killed in Ukraine

The Kremlin denies sending troops into the conflict in east Ukraine, but Russian relatives of those who have served and died across the border tell a different story

Russian paratroopers captured by Ukrainian forces near a village in the Amvrosiivka district of Donetsk in August. Russia says the troops strayed into Ukraine by accident.Photograph: Vladimir Gontar/EPA

Ukrainian soldiers charge a Grad multiple rocket launcher, near Shchastya, Luhansk region, east Ukraine, in August. Russian-backed rebels use similar weaponry.Photograph: Aleksey Chernyshev/AFP/Getty Images

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Ukrainian prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, says intelligence indicates Russia is continuing to send military personnel and equipment across the border

Alec Luhn in Moscow-Monday 19 January 2015

A growing body of information about Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine has started to reveal a damning picture of Moscow’s intervention in the separatist conflict there, despite Kremlin denials of involvement.
They Were Never There Russia's Silence for Families of Troops Killed in Ukraine by Thavam Ratna