Meat grinder gifts for mothers stir outrage in Russia
Local politicians from United Russia, the ruling party, have gifted meat grinders to the mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine. This idea was conceived by party activists in the Murmansk region in northwestern Russia, as reported by the independent portal Mediazona, citing the group's announcement on social media.
The gifts were given on the occasion of International Women's Day, as part of the "flowers for mothers of heroes" campaign. Photos published by the donors indicate that women were also given grills and bread makers, according to Mediazona.
Since World War II, the Russian military command has used a tactic known as the "meat grinder". It involves attempting to overpower the opponent with the sheer number of soldiers, even at the cost of substantial losses. Therefore, in the view of many commentators, giving such gifts to mothers of servicemen killed at the front is deemed inappropriate.
Following media publications and unfavourable comments on the internet, the initiators of the campaign have urged people "not to promote inhuman and provocative interpretations" of the gifts.
They also posted a statement on social media from one of the mothers, explaining that she had personally requested the meat grinder. The politicians argued that they provide families of veterans and those fallen with "support and assistance, with respect and understanding".
Thousands of fallen Russian soldiers
The BBC portal and the Russian independent portal Mediazona have verified 90,000 deaths of Russian soldiers since the attack on Ukraine in 2022. Experts estimate that the total number of casualties ranges from 159,000 to 223,000.
As highlighted by the BBC portal, Moscow rarely comments on its losses in the so-called special military operation. However, data collected by volunteers indicates that 15,300 prisoners, 20,600 volunteers, 15,600 contract soldiers, 10,500 mobilised soldiers, and 2,400 mercenaries have died.
The average age of those who fell last year was 36, which is older than in the first two years of the war. Most of the dead came from the republics of Bashkiria (3,932) and Tatarstan (3,804). The BBC reports that among the fallen from Bashkiria, eight out of ten came from small centres: villages or towns with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.
It is estimated that the verified figures represent only half of the actual number of casualties. This suggests that in reality, between 135,000 and 200,000 Russian soldiers have fallen.
