Satellite images document massive expansion of military cemeteries in Russia and the temporarily occupied territories

The number of burials in cemeteries associated with elite units of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Wagner mercenary group has increased sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine, The Telegraph writes.

For example, in just one section of the Tula cemetery, the number of graves quadrupled between October 2021 and April 2023. During the same time, a completely new plot appeared at the neighboring Bogorodskoye cemetery, which tripled in size.

The photographs show a significant expansion of the Near Cemetery near occupied Feodosia in Crimea and the Mikhailovskoye Cemetery near Stavropol. Both are affiliated with the 7th Guards Airborne Division, which has been fighting Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. Its troops took part in the offensive in the south near Kherson and Nikolaev, where they suffered heavy losses.