Artificial Intelligence Is Letting Russian War Widows Reunite With Their Soldier Husbands
In Russia, a haunting new use of AI is giving grieving families a chance to say farewell to loved ones lost in war. Through artificial intelligence, widows and parents of fallen soldiers are commissioning emotional videos that recreate one final meeting — a digital farewell where the dead come to life once more.
The growing trend, known as “digital resurrection,” has taken social media by storm. Using just a few photographs and voice recordings, AI tools generate lifelike clips where soldiers appear to smile, embrace family members, and even walk into the clouds. For many, it’s a bittersweet moment of closure; for others, it raises deep ethical and emotional questions.
One such widow, Yelena Kirghizova, turned to this technology after losing her husband, a Russian army officer killed in Ukraine in 2022. His body was never returned home. Through an AI-generated video, Yelena saw her husband once again — first in his wedding suit, then in uniform, walking toward heaven as he waved goodbye. For her, it was a form of peace after years of uncertainty and grief.
The project behind many of these videos is a social media page called “Final Meeting,” founded by digital creator Anna Korableva. What began as a small experiment quickly exploded in popularity, with hundreds of people requesting personalized memorials every day. Korableva describes her work as “therapy,” saying it helps families confront loss. Each clip takes her two days to produce and costs about $30. For another $30, families can even restore the deceased’s voice, allowing them to “speak” again using AI-generated speech models.
Despite its emotional impact, the trend has also faced backlash. Ukrainian users have criticized the videos for glorifying soldiers involved in the ongoing war. Others find the clips eerie and unsettling, questioning whether AI should meddle with such intimate memories. Still, many in Russia defend the practice as a modern form of remembrance — a way to cope with grief in an era shaped by technology.
Korableva insists her goal is to heal, not exploit. “People often forget to say ‘I love you’ or ‘goodbye,’” she explained. “If AI helps them do that — even once more — then it has done something good.”
From digital angels to talking portraits, this new form of mourning shows how far technology has merged with emotion. Whether seen as comfort or controversy, one thing is clear: AI is changing how humanity remembers the dead — turning loss into a moment of virtual reunion that feels almost real.
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