The Russian occupiers systematically erect memorials to their fallen soldiers in populated areas of the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine. Such memorials have already appeared in the villages of Rykove, Stavky, Mykhailivka and other places in the Kherson region. Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to this.

Usually these are plates with the names of the occupiers, stylized as Soviet monuments of the Second World War. Sometimes old Soviet monuments are repurposed as these war memorials. The opening of such facilities is accompanied by propaganda campaigns with the participation of officials of the occupation administrations and relatives of the victims.

The main goal of these actions is to reinforce the message “Russia is here forever” and try to legitimize the occupation. Propagandists strive to create the impression that “the land watered with Russian blood” supposedly belongs to Russia, thereby sacralizing the Russian presence. In addition, such actions are aimed at increasing the morale of Russian troops and the population, showing the “heroism” of the dead occupiers, as well as an attempt to impose on the local population the opinion of the inevitability and duration of the occupation.