When reading news mentioning Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, I often notice comments submitted by Ukrainian users wishing the dead to rest on concrete or glass wool.

In Ukrainian, the most common condolence message is “хай земля тобі буде пухом”, which translates into English as “may you rest in fluff” — implying soft fur, feathers, or wool. Identical to “may you rest in peace” in English, the phrase expresses the hope that someone's soul will find eternal tranquillity and comfort after death. The commentators sarcastically switch “fluff” into “concrete” or “glass wool” to parody the emphatic expression turning it into an angry wish of everlasting suffering.

Even a night spent on a concrete floor will cause back pain and muscle stiffness. Lying on a glass wool blanket is also anything but comfortable. Hazardous to touch and breathe, glass wool is made of sharp-edged fibres that can easily dig into the skin, and irritate the eyes and respiratory system. By saying “May you rest in fluff”, you explicitly believe or metaphorically suppose that the deceased person's soul has senses — just like one's body. If an immortal soul can feel pain, resting on these materials equals burning in hell for eternity.

Concrete and glass wool are materials for creation. Despite being unbearable to lie on, they are commonly used for construction. Building concrete walls and insulating them with glass wool contributes to the comfort of your home. By contrast, a Russian soldier is a tool of destruction. Russian forces have been shelling Ukrainian cities with artillery and aviation to flatten concrete buildings insulated with glass wool and deprive their residents of safety and warmth.

When visualised, the sarcastic wish transforms a dead Russian soldier's body into a construction material. Multi-layered stacks made of concrete slabs, glass wool blankets, and corpses uncannily resemble residential buildings. Their function is not accommodation but negative commemoration — being an anti-memorial of the war crimes committed by Russians. The tool of destruction turns into a construction block. The comfort of a home turns into a space of eternal damnation and torment.