Putin tries to hide human

VLADIMIR PUTIN’S defence chiefs are seeking to take control of compensation payments for families of soldiers killed in Ukraine in a suspected ploy to cover up huge Russian losses, British military intelligence officials said today.

- Nicholas Cecil Political Editor

The move, for the military rather than civilian officials to oversee the pay-outs, is believed to be an attempt to hide from the Russian people that many thousands of troops have been killed as the president’s invasion entered its third month. Estimates of Russian fatalities range from around 10,000 to more than 20,000. Three or four times as many soldiers are believed to have been injured or incapacitated.

In its latest intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defence in London said this morning: “Russia’s ministry of defence has proposed compensation payments for the families of deceased service personnel be overseen by military rather than civilian officials. This likely reflects a desire to hide the true scale of Russia’s losses from the domestic population.”