As Moscow deepens military cooperation with North Korea, concerns grow inside Russia over scams in which women lure recruits into marriage to claim state compensation after their deaths at the front.
When Maria from St. Petersburg was informed by the Russian military that her 59-year-old father, Yuri, had been wounded at the front in Ukraine and later died, the shock was twofold. Not only was she unaware that her father had enlisted, but she also discovered that he had married just two days before heading to the battlefield. The young woman, 22 years Yuri's junior, became his legal next of kin and thereby gained the right to state compensation.
"I'm still in shock and can't yet accept what happened. At first, it seemed like a dream. Even now, I sometimes wake up thinking I dreamed it all. But this is really happening," the 37-year-old Maria told CNN. She added that she had never met the woman nor heard her father mention her. "I've never even spoken to that woman. I don't know what I'd say to her, because I immediately suspected it was a scam."
When a Russian soldier dies in combat, his next of kin receive a one-time payment of at least five million rubles, or about $64,000. This compensation is meant to reassure recruits that their loved ones will be taken care of if the worst happens. However, in Russia, there is growing concern that this benefit is being exploited by unscrupulous fraudsters, whom Russian officials and state media call "black widows."
"Families of participants in the Special Military Operation must be protected from brazen criminals, the so-called 'black widows,' financial and telephone scammers, and predators who target those who have received monetary payouts," said Leonid Slutsky, a prominent deputy in the Russian parliament, warning that such "crimes" are taking on "serious proportions."
Last year, the Russian public was shaken by the case of a nurse at a military hospital who was dismissed after being accused of marrying five wounded soldiers she was caring for, just before they succumbed to their injuries. The goal, according to the accusations, was to collect their compensation.
In another case, soldier Georgy Kostirko met Angelina Varyukhina online and married her just ten days later, before returning to his unit. After his death, Varyukhina, as his wife, remained the legal beneficiary of the compensation, but the court ultimately stripped her of her next-of-kin status. The case sparked widespread public outrage.
In a video podcast recorded last year in Tomsk, Siberia, real estate agent Marina Orlova gave shockingly cynical advice. When host Daria Cherdantseva, then 30, asked how to get money for an apartment, Orlova replied through laughter: "Simple. Find a man serving in the Special Military Operation, and when he dies, you get eight million rubles (about $102,000)." She added: "Many women today buy cheap apartments this way. It's a business."
Both women were later criminally prosecuted, sentenced to lengthy community service, and forced to publicly apologize to soldiers and their wives. Last year, Russian media also reported on an investigation in Primorsky Krai, in Russia's Far East, into an alleged scheme involving members of Russian security services. According to reports, they found vulnerable men, including orphans, arranged their marriages, and sent them to the most dangerous positions at the front.
Meanwhile, Moscow continues to deepen its military partnership with Pyongyang. According to information from Andriy Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Russia has begun deploying a North Korean missile unit equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use in the war against Ukraine. About 90 North Korean soldiers will be stationed in Russia's Voronezh Oblast to support that unit.
Cherniak also told Reuters that Pyongyang has already delivered a fresh shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles to Russian forces. According to HUR estimates, Russia has received approximately 150 such missiles since late 2023. At the end of July, the first use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukrainian targets since August 2025 was recorded.
These moves come as Russian attacks intensify. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Moscow launched 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles, and 115 drones at Kyiv and its surroundings on August 4, killing at least 17 people. According to estimates from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia is deliberately incorporating more ballistic missiles into its strikes to maximize pressure on Ukraine's limited air defenses.
