Putin's cousin accidentally reveals secret: 48,000 Russians missing
No fewer than 48,000 Russians participating in the war against Ukraine have gone missing without a trace. This number was reported during a roundtable at the State Duma by the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, Anna Tsivilyova, who is a cousin of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
8:44 AM EST, December 4, 2024
"The numbers concerning the missing should not appear anywhere, this is classified information," added the Deputy Defense Minister of Russia during the session when colleagues pointed it out to her.
Putin's cousin's blunder: disclosed classified data
The roundtable of the Commission for Labor, Social Policy, and Veterans' Affairs on "Ensuring Legislative Social Support for Participants of the Special Military Operation and Members of Their Families (Problems and Solutions)" took place on November 26.
During the event, the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, Anna Cywileva, who is reportedly a cousin of Vladimir Putin, also spoke. She stated that currently, all men signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense are required to undergo a DNA test. This data is then entered into the Ministry of Internal Affairs database.
"We also collect DNA from relatives, which also goes into the database. The number of relatives who have reached out to us stands at 48,000," added Tsivilyova.
Kartapolov: This is very sensitive information
In response, the Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, warned her: "Colleagues, I strongly urge that these numbers concerning the missing do not appear anywhere. This is very sensitive information. When preparing the final documents, I also ask that these numbers do not appear anywhere," he emphasized.
Tsivilyova responded that she reported the number of applications, not the missing.
It is unclear whether Tsivilyova was referring to 48,000 relatives of missing soldiers who provided their DNA or a collective database of relatives of military personnel operating in the war zone.
However, as Astra highlights, earlier, relatives of Russian soldiers reported that free DNA submission was only possible if the soldier had been officially granted "missing" status. Families of soldiers also confirmed this.
At the same time, the website of the Irkutsk Human Rights Ombudsman stated that DNA could only be provided if the soldier had been declared missing.
