Widow sues to recover husband's missing remains after burial

A resident of Aramil buried her husband four months ago after he was killed in the war. But the widow is certain that not all of her spouse«s remains are in the grave. Before laying the soldier to rest, his family opened the zinc coffin and conducted a DNA test.

After receiving the genetic test results, the wife learned that there were two parts of her husband«s body at the morgue in Rostov. But only one was brought back to his hometown.

«Everything Was Decided in Two Hours»

Yulia and Ivan had been together for seven years. He had raised her son from a previous relationship as his own since early childhood. He worked as an appliance repairman and even started his own business.

He made the decision to go to the war in March 2024. His wife tried to talk him out of it, but he stood his ground. He already had friends and a brother in the war zone.

«I argued, gave all sorts of reasons that he could protect us here too. It was all useless. A grown man had made his decision,» the soldier«s widow recounts.

A few months after being deployed, Ivan appeared on a federal TV channel. He was undergoing retraining at a training ground in Nizhny Novgorod Region when a news report was being filmed there. On screen, the soldier with the call sign «Yuvellir» (Jeweler) explained why he had signed a military contract.

Under his contract, Ivan was to serve until 29 October 2024. On that day, he went on a combat mission and never contacted his loved ones again. His wife began searching for him immediately, sending inquiries to military commissariats, his unit, and hospitals, and contacting his fellow soldiers. But Ivan went missing.

«In May, I came to the unit, and they simply handed me a death certificate. No one answered questions about what happened, where he was. We kept searching. And on 27 July, a volunteer girl from our town sends me a message: »Yulia, hello, your husband has been brought here, but they can«t reach you.» Neither the military commissariat nor the unit — no one even notified me that my husband had been identified and sent in a zinc coffin,« the soldier»s widow recounts.

DNA Did Not Match

Along with the coffin, the wife was given her husband«s military ID and dog tag. And also icons that he never had. Due to all the discrepancies, Yulia insisted on opening the coffin and conducting a DNA test. She had to pay for the test out of her own pocket. She spent more than 100,000 rubles (about $1,100 at current rates) on it.

«No DNA test had been done before. I asked how they identified my husband, and they told me it was visually. But during the coffin opening, I examined the body completely. It was black, without even remnants of skin. I»ve known the man for so many years, but even I couldn«t identify him visually,» says Yulia.

Material for the genetic test was taken from the fallen soldier«s father. And Ivan»s wife was shocked when the result came back negative.

«For a month and a half, I thought this wasn»t my husband, meaning I couldn«t visit the grave, because how could I go, my DNA didn»t match,« Yulia recalls. »But in the end, we did a DNA test with my mother. And it matched. Mom insists that dad is definitely Ivan«s father, 200 percent. But I don»t even want to look into that now.«

After receiving the test results, Yulia learned that the material matched two parts of the soldier«s body. But only one had been brought to her in the coffin.

«They have another set of remains, and I don»t have them. Where are they? Why didn«t they come so I could bury the person whole? They brought me only the upper part. So another part of my husband is being shuffled around Russia somewhere? Or buried by someone else?» says the soldier«s widow.

Lawsuit

Yulia is demanding the return of her husband«s missing remains through the courts. She has filed a lawsuit. The first hearing is scheduled for 22 December. The list of defendants includes the Main State Center for Forensic Medical Examination.

The widow also demands reimbursement of burial expenses from the Sverdlovsk Region military commissariat. Yulia says that four and a half months after the funeral, the amount has still not been compensated. And from the Ministry of Defence — the money she spent on genetic tests and trips to Rostov, where she studied the results of her husband«s identification. In total, just over 150,000 rubles (about $1,700 at current rates). And 500,000 rubles (about $5,600 at current rates) for moral suffering she endured over these months.

«There is an identification procedure, it is set out in the law. In this case, it was violated. And that is partly why the wife went to get the test done,» said Yulia«s lawyer Stanislav Medvedev.

We have sent a request to the Ministry of Defence. We will publish it as soon as we receive it.

In the Urals, a soldier«s mother demanded to open the zinc coffin that she is being forced to bury. The woman refuses to acknowledge that it contains her son»s remains without the results of an independent DNA test.

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