An “ad hoc” site to allow – despite the limitations on the internet – Russian citizens to find out if their relatives, friends and acquaintances have been killed or taken prisoner by the Ukrainians. It is called “200rf.com” and has just been opened by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine with clearly propaganda rather than humanitarian functions: “Here we will promptly publish photos and videos that we will receive from the battlefield”, reads the home page of the site. “If your relatives or friends are in Ukraine and participate in the war against our people, you can get information about their fate here.” The rather obvious objective is to weaken the morale and the (already rather low) consensus of Russian public opinion.
The home page of the site shows photos and documents of dead and captured Russian soldiers, as well as videos – some with rather crude details – in which the soldiers (often very young) report their personal data. The harshness of the images is justified by Kiev with the fact that “unfortunately, many of the people killed are difficult to identify: we deliberately publish these photos and videos, so perhaps you will recognize someone by indirect signs”. Presenting the video, the adviser to Interior Minister Vadym Denysenko stresses that “Ukraine treats prisoners in a very humane way: no one insults them and they are provided with medical assistance”. Denysenko points out that the Russian authorities had confiscated the soldiers’ phones before sending them to the front and therefore were unable to contact their relatives.