Yandex Maps has begun blurring cemeteries on its digital platform in a move that mirrors the way it obscures military facilities, prompting speculation that the step is aimed at concealing the scale of Russian losses in the war against Ukraine.

The decision comes as mounting casualties from the conflict have reportedly become visible even through satellite imagery, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

Observers note that the scale of new burials in certain regions reflects the heavy toll of Russia’s ongoing military campaign.

Ukrainian military blogger Necro Mancer, who compiles information on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, drew attention to the change.

He found that Yandex Maps applied blurring to the New Cemetery in Severomorsk, treating it like a military site.

The location is roughly 1,800 kilometers from Ukraine. Severomorsk is the main base of Russia’s Northern Fleet, and burials at the New Cemetery are clearly linked to Russian military losses in Ukraine.

Satellite imagery shows the cemetery has expanded dramatically since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, additional land has been allocated for future burials.

Russian military losses are a state secret. The Kremlin tightly guards casualty figures from this war. Still, it is known the toll runs into the hundreds of thousands-a record in the country’s modern history.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the aggressor’s total irrecoverable losses over four years of war have already exceeded 1.2 million people. This figure includes, among others, the wounded.