Their Sons Are Dying on Battlefields in Ukraine. They Still Back Russia’s War.
New York Times
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New York Times
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In Russia's remote North Ossetia region, families bear a heavy toll from the war in Ukraine, yet many accept the Kremlin's narrative that fighting must continue until victory is achieved. Oksana Abaeva, who lost her son Albert in the conflict, embodies the region's struggle between pride in defending the motherland and anguish over the loss of its youth.
Their Sons Are Dying on Battlefields in Ukraine. They Still Back Russia’s War. - The New York Times
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!A person in a black jacket and another person stand among gravestones adorned with colorful flowers. One gravestone displays a portrait of a smiling person in a green military uniform.
*Oksana Abaeva and her husband, Khetag Zaseyev, at the grave of her son, Albert Abaev, in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian region of North Ossetia.*
What Russians Who Lost Sons in Ukraine Think About the War Now
The Russian region of North Ossetia has suffered a heavy toll, yet many accept the Kremlin’s line that the fighting must continue until victory is secured.
Oksana Abaeva and her husband, Khetag Zaseyev, at the grave of her son, Albert Abaev, in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian region of North Ossetia.Credit...
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By Valerie Hopkins
Visuals by Nanna Heitmann
Reporting from Vladikavkaz, Russia
Sept. 28, 2026Updated 8:05 a.m. ET
Russia’s war with Ukraine shows itself in many ways in North Ossetia, a remote mountainous region with a centuries-long history of furnishing soldiers for Moscow’s battles.
It can be seen in the martial songs now sung in schools. In a government stocked with veterans. In a habit of making patriotic comments for public consumption and then whispering true feelings. In the scarcity of men. And in the scale of the loss.
So many soldiers have returned from Ukraine in body bags that they are now being buried in a dedicated plot in Vladikavkaz, the regional capital. The new tombstones are ornamented with color photographs of the fallen, retouched and then baked in a furnace at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the growing graveyard lies the son of Oksana Abaeva, 47, who founded an organization for women who have lost loved ones in the war. She reflects a region pulled between a deep pride in fighting for the motherland and an aching lament for the erasure of its young men.
Ms. Abaeva’s son Albert Abaev was part of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He would call home when he could, she said. He never complained about the cold and the hunger in the miserable frontline conditions. He promised her he would come home.
Image!Several apartment buildings are visible in a winter scene, surrounded by snow. A paved road with a tall green fence leads towards a snow-capped mountain.
*The mountain town of Mizur in North Ossetia. The remote region has a centuries-long history of furnishing soldiers for Moscow’s wars.*
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Russia-Ukraine War
* Ukraine’s Economy
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* Western Sanctions
* Russia’s Shadow War
* Photos
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
!A person in a black jacket and another person stand among gravestones adorned with colorful flowers. One gravestone displays a portrait of a smiling person in a green military uniform.
*Oksana Abaeva and her husband, Khetag Zaseyev, at the grave of her son, Albert Abaev, in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian region of North Ossetia.*
What Russians Who Lost Sons in Ukraine Think About the War Now
The Russian region of North Ossetia has suffered a heavy toll, yet many accept the Kremlin’s line that the fighting must continue until victory is secured.
Oksana Abaeva and her husband, Khetag Zaseyev, at the grave of her son, Albert Abaev, in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian region of North Ossetia.Credit...
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Listen · 11:31 min
*
*
*
*
By Valerie Hopkins
Visuals by Nanna Heitmann
Reporting from Vladikavkaz, Russia
Sept. 28, 2026Updated 8:05 a.m. ET
Russia’s war with Ukraine shows itself in many ways in North Ossetia, a remote mountainous region with a centuries-long history of furnishing soldiers for Moscow’s battles.
It can be seen in the martial songs now sung in schools. In a government stocked with veterans. In a habit of making patriotic comments for public consumption and then whispering true feelings. In the scarcity of men. And in the scale of the loss.
So many soldiers have returned from Ukraine in body bags that they are now being buried in a dedicated plot in Vladikavkaz, the regional capital. The new tombstones are ornamented with color photographs of the fallen, retouched and then baked in a furnace at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the growing graveyard lies the son of Oksana Abaeva, 47, who founded an organization for women who have lost loved ones in the war. She reflects a region pulled between a deep pride in fighting for the motherland and an aching lament for the erasure of its young men.
Ms. Abaeva’s son Albert Abaev was part of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He would call home when he could, she said. He never complained about the cold and the hunger in the miserable frontline conditions. He promised her he would come home.
Image!Several apartment buildings are visible in a winter scene, surrounded by snow. A paved road with a tall green fence leads towards a snow-capped mountain.
*The mountain town of Mizur in North Ossetia. The remote region has a centuries-long history of furnishing soldiers for Moscow’s wars.*
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Tags:#روسيا#أوكرانيا#الحرب#أوسيتيا الشمالية#الجنود#الخسائر البشرية
Source: New York Times
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