Thousands of Russian soldiers have lost their lives in the war with Ukraine. (AI-generated image)As casualties mount on the front lines in Ukraine, a troubling scam is sweeping across Russia: predatory opportunists, dubbed “black widows,” are allegedly enticing vulnerable soldiers into rapid, fast-tracked marriages right before deployment-or even on their deathbeds, reports CNN. Under Russian law, legal next of kin receive lump-sum compensation starting at 5 million rubles ($64,000) when a service member dies in combat. However, grieving relatives are increasingly finding themselves cut out of these official survivor payouts by strangers who married their loved ones just days before they were killed, sparking nationwide outrage and calls for a legal crackdown. Here’s a look at CNN’s findings about the “black widow scam”.