Families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are using artificial intelligence to create video messages that appear to show the dead soldiers speaking. These videos combine photographs, voice recordings, and AI technology to create what looks like a final message from someone who has died.

A service called Video Farewell has started offering this specifically. Families send in photos, videos, and recordings of voice messages the soldier made while alive. The company uses AI to make the person appear to move and speak in a new video. It costs about $30 per video, according to Cybernews.

Why do families want these videos? Russia has lost a very large number of soldiers in Ukraine. Many families have received unclear or incomplete notification that their relative died. Some families do not even have a body to bury. The Russian government keeps tight control over casualty numbers and information. For these families, the videos offer a way to feel like they've had a goodbye—something the war has taken away.

How the Technology Works

The process is straightforward. A company takes a still photograph and feeds it into AI software that can make a face appear to move and speak. The software watches the lips sync up with audio—either voice messages the soldier recorded before he died, or an AI voice made to sound like him based on recordings. The result is a short video where the deceased appears to look at the camera and speak to his family.

The videos are designed to feel emotional. The Washington Post reported that they often look like a final message—as if the soldier had known he would die and left instructions to say goodbye. This creates an emotional effect, but it is a story the actual person never wrote.

Technology and Grief in War

This is not the first time tech has been used to handle death in this war. Starting in 2022, Ukraine used facial-recognition software to identify Russian soldiers killed in battle. The software would match their faces to known photos and send the images to their families to confirm who had died, The Hill reported. One technology identifies who died. The other helps families process the grief.

However, there are concerns worth noting. A video that shows a dead person speaking is technically called a deepfake—a fake video of a real person. The families who order these videos know what they are getting, and they choose to use them. But the same software that makes a memorial video can also make false videos that spread lies. In a country where the government already controls information tightly during wartime, people seeing realistic AI videos of dead people could have broader effects. It might become easier for false videos to trick people.

There is also something political happening. The Russian government manages how the nation remembers its war dead. When families go outside official channels to create their own memorials, they are finding their own way to grieve. This may be a form of quiet resistance to state control, or it may simply be families finding comfort where they can. Either way, it shows something about what families need that the government is not providing.

As long as the war continues and more soldiers die, families will likely keep ordering these videos.