UPDATED: Russia defence ministry seeks greater secrecy on military deaths in Ukraine

The Russian defence ministry has proposed that relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine should have to apply to military rather than civilian authorities for compensation payments, imposing an extra level of secrecy around its war losses.

Russia already classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace and has not updated its official casualty figures in Ukraine for nearly four weeks.

In its proposal, the defence ministry asked that the benefits paid to the families of fallen soldiers no longer be overseen by civilian officials but handled by enlistment offices instead. That move is designed to “limit the circle of people” with information on Russian troops killed in Ukraine, it said.

The proposal appeared on a government legal information website. It was unclear when it would be reviewed by the government.

The ministry said on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded since Moscow launched what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

It has provided no update on military casualties since then, but the Kremlin has spoken of “significant losses”. Ukraine and Western governments have said they believe Russian casualties are many times higher.

•  Russia’s military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border continues to build, a British military update said on Wednesday, adding that fighting in the Donbas region is intensifying as Russian forces seek to break through Ukrainian defences.

“Russian air activity in northern Ukraine is likely to remain low since its withdrawal from north of Kyiv. However, there is still a risk of precision strikes against priority targets throughout Ukraine,” the update, which was tweeted, said.

“Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their intent to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country,” it added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Meanwhile, Ukraine received fighter jets to help resist the Russian invasion.

The Pentagon said that Ukraine had recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force, declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s, which its pilots already know how to fly and a handful of Eastern European countries have.

Control of Donbas and the besieged southern port of Mariupol would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

Photo – A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service.