Families of volunteers from Southern Russia who perished in SMO in fight with officials for social payments

After Russian militaries have perished in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, their relatives often cannot obtain the due compensations and social benefits. The problem is with those who perished while being members of the units outside the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

After the start of the SMO, Vasily Shtylun, a resident of the town of Goryachy Klyuch, joined a unit of the MoD's Airborne Forces in the Moscow Region, after which he served in the territory of Ukraine in this unit. According to his relatives, he was not satisfied with the conditions, so upon completion of the contract, he continued taking part in the SMO as a member of the volunteer formation named "Veterans".

Victoria Shtylun, his wife, said that in the fall of 2022 she was informed of Vasily's death. The family faced the problem that the battalion made neither payments in connection with the death of a soldier, nor regular salary payments. Because of this, Shtylun's family had to make ends meet until his body was found.

By December 2022, Vasily's family had no documentary evidence of his service in the "Veterans", other than his death certificate. Relatives turned to the "Veterans" battalion with a request for payments, but they were told that there was no money yet.

Dmitry Ukhanov served in the "Veterans" battalion Together with Vasily Shtylun. In September 2022, Tatiana Uchevatova, Dmitry's mother, was informed that her son had died "while performing a combat mission, saving his comrades' lives."

A search for his son's body took four months. In January, 2023, Uchevatova was told that the military commissariat (registration and enlistment office) had nothing to do with Dmitry Ukhanov's service, and therefore would not make payments to her. The administration of Saint Petersburg explained that without a certificate stating that the "Veterans" battalion belongs to the Russian MoD, it is impossible to hope for any payments.

Ignat Pryanichnikov, a native of the city of Abinsk, Krasnodar Territory, also took his service together with Vasily Shtylun in the "Veterans" battalion. "On September 27, 2022, I was informed that my husband died on a combat mission," said Yulia Pryanichnikova.

According to her story, while searching for her husband, she wrote to all authorities, but no answers were received. The body of Ignat Pryanichnikov was identified in January 2023. According to his wife, the family received no payments.

According to Ms Pryanichnikova, she applied to the fund for supporting SMO participants and families of fallen soldiers named "Fatherland Defenders". The only help she received there was filing complaints with various bodies.