In the long human story of mourning, the living have always sought ways to keep the dead present — in portraits, in rituals, in the stories told at gravesides. Now, in Russia, where tens of thousands of families have lost soldiers in Ukraine, artificial intelligence has become the newest instrument of that ancient longing. Grieving relatives are commissioning deepfake videos that animate the dead — returning them home, lifting them toward heaven — while the destruction that caused their deaths remains carefully out of frame. The technology does not resolve grief so much as it reshapes it, and
BBC News
· Jun 13, 2026
· society
· 5 min read
High
Sourcing: Verified
Russian families use AI to resurrect soldiers killed in Ukraine
Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine with at least 225,000 verified deaths, prompting families to use AI deepfakes as a coping mechanism for unresolved grief and loss.
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War & Conflict
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Bias & Framing
⚖
BBC presents AI deepfakes of deceased Russian soldiers as a grief phenomenon while emphasizing controversial war narrative framing and ethical concerns, with limited Ukrainian perspective.
Bias Direction
center-left
Confidence
MED
The article frames AI deepfakes primarily through an ethical/psychological lens while simultaneously highlighting the political messaging aspect (Kremlin terminology, absence of Ukraine/destruction). This dual framing creates implicit criticism of the practice's propagandistic dimensions without explicit editorial judgment.
resurrect (metaphorical, emotionally charged)
disappeared at the front
controversially portrayed as heroes
appalled
unethical and deeply disturbing
extremely complex and ethically difficult
Russian families' own explanations for the practice beyond grief
Russian government/official position on the deepfakes
Psychological experts supporting potential therapeutic benefits
Technical experts on deepfake detection/prevention
Comparative analysis of similar mourning practices in other cultures/conflicts
Voices of Russian soldiers or their families defending the practice
Geopolitical Impact
🌎
Russian families use AI deepfakes to mourn soldiers killed in Ukraine, blending grief with state-approved war narratives, raising ethical concerns about technology's role in conflict messaging.
Escalation Risk
moderate
Confidence
HIGH
Russia
Ukraine
European Union
NATO countries
Russia leverages AI technology and emotional narratives to sustain domestic support for the war effort and control information narratives. The practice demonstrates asymmetric information warfare, where grief becomes a vector for state messaging. Ukraine and Western nations face challenges countering emotionally resonant deepfakes that obscure war's reality.
Similar to Soviet-era state control of mourning narratives and WWII propaganda that romanticized sacrifice. Modern parallel: China's use of AI and social media to shape narratives around Uyghur policies.
Economic Lens
📈
AI deepfake technology is being used by Russian families to create videos of deceased soldiers, raising concerns about grief processing, ethical implications, and potential political messaging around the Ukraine conflict.
Market Signal
mixed
Confidence
MED
Technology/AI
Media and Entertainment
Mental Health Services
Defense and Military
Social Media Platforms
Consumers face growing exposure to AI-generated deepfakes on social media, raising concerns about content authenticity, emotional manipulation, and psychological impacts. Demand may increase for AI detection tools and digital literacy services, while trust in online media content may decline.
Governments and social media platforms may implement stricter regulations on deepfake creation and distribution, particularly regarding military/conflict content. Potential policies could include mandatory AI-generated content labeling, restrictions on emotional manipulation through synthetic media, and international agreements on wartime information warfare. Mental health support frameworks may need expansion.