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May 15, 2022 02:34 pm

How Ukraine Uses Facial Recognition Technology to Identify Dead Russian Soldiers and War Criminals

"Ukraine is using facial recognition technology to identify bodies of Russian soldiers killed in war," reads the chyron on CNN's latest video report. It explains how Ukraine is using the technology "both to help with this difficult task and help advance their aims in the propaganda war with Moscow." And it may even help identify suspected war criminals. But first Ukraine's chief civil-military liaison officer tells CNN that Geneva Convention rules mandate storing the bodies of the enemy (to be exchanged after the end of active combat) -- but also that they make an attempt to first identify the dead. From CNN's report:This is where the Ministry of Digital Transformation comes in. "We have identified about 300 cases," says Mykhailo Fedorov [Ukraine's vice prime minister and Minister of Digital Transformation]. They do it by using a myriad of techniques, but the most effective has been facial recognition technology. They upload a picture of a face, the technology scrubs all the social networks... Once they have a match, they go one step further. "We send messages to their friends and relatives." CNN: These are often gruesome photos of dead soldiers. Why do you send them to the families in Russia? Fedorov: There are two goals. One is to show the Russians there's a real war going on here, to fight against the Russian propaganda, to show them they're not as strong as shown on TV, and Russians really are dying here. The second goal is to give them an opportunity to pick up the bodies in Ukraine. They do get responses from Russian families. CNN: They're responding with, basically saying "You will be killed. I will come and I will also take part in this war." Fedorov: 80% of the familes' answers are, We'll come to Ukraine ourselves and kill you, and you deserve what's happening to you. CNN: What about the other 20%? Fedorov: Some of them say they're grateful, and they know about the situation. And some would like to come and pick up the body. The technology is not just being used on the dead. It is also being used to identify Russian soldiers who are alive, some of whom are being accused of war crimes. Ukraine chief regional prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko: We have established the identity of one military man. "We have a lot of materials - irreputable evidence," this prosecutor says. [Kravchenko] says he was caught on video in Belarus trying to sell items he had looted from Ukrainian homes. But his alleged crimes go far beyond that. The soldier is accused of taking part in the execution of four Ukrainian men, with their hands bound behind their backs.... Prosecutors say the soldier was first identified by the technology, and then by a Ukrainian citizen who said the soldier tortured him after entering his home. Kravchenko: We showed these photos to the witnesses and victims. They identified the specific person who was among other Russian military personnel who killed four people in this particular place, the prosecutor said. The end result of all their investigations, they hope, will be a full record of what happened in Ukraine. And the proof they need to prosecute those who committed crimes against its pepole.

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