In Russia, a new trend is emerging where families use artificial intelligence to create videos of deceased soldiers. These AI-generated clips show fallen troops animated, smiling, and even speaking, offering a form of digital comfort. This practice has become a modern mourning ritual for many grieving relatives.
Since mid-2025, social media has seen an increase in these deepfake animations. Clients provide personal photos and recordings, and software creates brief videos of the deceased. The creators are often women who have also experienced loss. Anna Korableva, who started a memorial video project, described the emotional difficulty of the work, aiming to help families say a final goodbye.
This service has also become profitable. Some creators, like Aliyana, who began making clips for free after her brother's death, now earn significant amounts daily. Prices vary, with some videos costing between $17 and $133. Demand remains high, with families ordering new clips for special occasions.
The AI soldiers are depicted as patriotic heroes, thanking relatives and encouraging support for the war, ignoring the conflict's devastation. This has angered Ukrainian users and divided opinions within Russia. While some find the videos moving, others consider them unsettling and morally questionable. Experts note that this trend, while a way to cope with personal loss, may also reinforce support for the war.
Influencer Katya Jin shared a video of an avatar of her missing soldier husband, promoting the service. She later deleted the posts. The scale of grief is immense, with confirmed Russian military deaths in the hundreds of thousands. Researchers like Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska from the University of Cambridge highlight the ethical complexities, calling it a technological and cultural experiment. Despite the technology, these digital avatars cannot replace the lost loved ones, offering only an illusion of comfort.