Ukraine war: 1,212 soldiers’ bodies repatriated in latest swap with Russia
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Ukraine Says Bodies Of More Than 1,200 Killed In Russia War Repatriated
Ukraine says it has repatriated more than 1,200 bodies soldiers killed in the war sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago. The bodies were returned with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The swap is part of an ongoing agreement with Russia that has seen busloads of POWs cross the border both ways.
“As a result of the repatriation measures, the bodies of 1,212 fallen Defenders were returned to Ukraine,” the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on June 11.
The agency responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said the bodies were returned with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
It gave no further details on the exchange and said it is still establishing the identities of the deceased. The swap is part of an ongoing agreement with Russia that has seen busloads of POWs cross the border both ways.
Russia’s lead negotiator in the June 2 Istanbul peace talks that sealed the exchange agreement said on June 11 that Russia had received 27 bodies from Ukraine.
The agreement seeks to repatriate the bodies of some 12,000 dead soldiers killed in the war. While the Istanbul talks reached a deal on exchanging prisoners, it failed to make any progress on ending Europe’s longest and deadliest conflict since World War II.
Kyiv has expressed agreement with a US call for a 30-day cease-fire. Moscow has resisted and said certain conditions — unacceptable to Ukraine — must first be met.
Earlier this week the two sides swapped busloads of POWs under the age of 25, sparking emotional scenes in both countries.
Among those released, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, were members of the Navy, land forces, territorial defense forces, Air Force, Airborne Assault Forces, Border Guard Service, National Guard, and State Special Transport Service.
Ukraine says it received 1st batch of bodies as part of swap agreed during Istanbul peace talks
Ukraine says it has received the first batch of bodies of its deceased soldiers from Russia. The bodies were part of a swap agreed upon during peace talks between the two countries in Istanbul last week. Among the bodies returned to Ukraine include servicemen who fought in the country’s Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Russia has yet to confirm the swap, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is fulfilling its obligations.
On June 2, Istanbul hosted the second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, following the first round that was also held in the Turkish metropolis on May 16.
During the latest talks, the two sides agreed to exchange more prisoners of war – focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded – and the return of the bodies of 6,000 soldiers from each side.
“As a result of the repatriation measures, the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on Telegram.
The statement said that among the bodies returned to Ukraine include servicemen who fought in the country’s Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Russia’s border region of Kursk, where Kyiv had launched an incursion in August last year.
In April, Russia said it managed to fully push Ukrainian forces out of the region, and has since claimed to have captured multiple settlements in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, which lies adjacent to Kursk.
Kyiv has denied being fully pushed out of Kursk, but has noted that the conditions in the area are “difficult.”
The statement said that the bodies of its servicemen were returned following the joint work of multiple government bodies, and thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its assistance.
“Investigators of law enforcement agencies, together with expert institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will establish the identities of the deceased as soon as possible,” it added.
Russia has yet to confirm the swap, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a briefing that Moscow is fulfilling its obligations as part of the deals agreed on in Istanbul and expects the Ukrainian side to do the same.
Ukraine, Russia carry out first stage of prisoner swap
Ukraine and Russia on Monday carried out the first stage of a prisoner exchange. The Russian Defense Ministry said that “the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 was returned” A similar number of prisoners of war from the Ukrainian army were also transferred. Efforts remain ongoing to repatriate the bodies of Ukrainian servicemen, the Ukrainian agency said. Meanwhile, Russia’s air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles overnight.
KYIV/MOSCOW – Ukraine and Russia on Monday carried out the first stage of a prisoner exchange following agreements reached in Istanbul last week, Ukraine’s Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that “the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime.”
A similar number of prisoners of war from the Ukrainian army were also transferred, it added.
ALSO READ: Russia delivers 1st batch of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies to exchange point
During their last round of talks in Istanbul on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an “all-for-all” exchange involving seriously ill and wounded prisoners, as well as soldiers under the age of 25, according to Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Efforts remain ongoing to repatriate the bodies of Ukrainian servicemen, the Ukrainian agency said.
Drone attacks
Meanwhile, Russia’s air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles overnight, the country’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday via its official Telegram channel.
According to the ministry, the drones were neutralized between 9:50 pm Moscow time (1850 GMT) on Monday and 5:50 am (0250 GMT) on Tuesday, across several regions in western and central Russia.
READ MORE: Ukraine denies delaying prisoner swap with Russia
Forty-six unmanned vehicles were downed over Bryansk Oblast, 20 over Belgorod Oblast, nine each over Voronezh Oblast and Crimea, four each over Kaluga Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan, three over Moscow Oblast, two each over Leningrad, Oryol, and Kursk Oblasts, and one over Smolensk Oblast, said the ministry.
Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,212 fallen soldiers
The bodies of 1,212 fallen Ukrainian soldiers have been returned, Ukraine says. The announcement follows Russian-Ukrainian Istanbul talks on June 2, which focused on exchanges of POWs and fallen soldiers. The bodies were returned from multiple front-line regions, including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts. The Ukrainian side did not disclose how many Russian bodies were handed over in return. At the Istanbul talks, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange severely wounded and young prisoners.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Ukraine has brought back the bodies of 1,212 fallen service members, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW) said on June 11.
The announcement follows Russian-Ukrainian Istanbul talks on June 2, which focused on exchanges of POWs and fallen soldiers.
The repatriation was carried out through a coordinated effort involving the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Armed Forces, the Interior Ministry, the Ombudsman’s Office, the State Emergency Service, and other national security and defense institutions. The International Committee of the Red Cross also supported the operation.
The remains of soldiers were returned from multiple front-line regions, including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts.
Officials emphasized that investigative and forensic teams from the Interior Ministry and the Health Ministry are working to identify the bodies in the shortest possible time.
Vladimir Medinsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed Russia transferred the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers in accordance with the agreements in Istanbul, while Ukraine released the remains of 27 Russian service members.
The Ukrainian side did not disclose how many Russian bodies were handed over in return.
At the Istanbul meeting on June 2, Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on a new exchange of POWs but failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The Turkey-hosted talks were the second round since mid-May and resulted in an agreement to exchange severely wounded and young prisoners, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying up to 1,200 individuals could be returned on each side. Russia also pledged to transfer up to 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.
Following the Istanbul talks, Ukraine and Russia have already conducted two prisoner exchanges on June 9 and 10. While exact figures were not immediately disclosed, Ukraine confirmed the return of severely wounded and chronically ill prisoners, including those captured during the 2022 siege of Mariupol and held for more than three years.
In Istanbul, Ukraine also submitted a peace proposal that called for a full ceasefire, an “all-for-all” POW exchange, the return of abducted children, and the use of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine. Russia has yet to formally respond.
Ukraine says Russia returned 1,212 soldiers’ bodies
The bodies of 1,212 Russian soldiers have been returned to Ukraine. They were killed during the Russian incursion into Ukraine. The two sides have agreed to a prisoner swap, but not an end to the conflict. Russia has also continued to attack Ukraine with drone strikes. The U.S. has called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict, which is now in its seventh year.
Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough in ending the war, though.
Deals to swap prisoners and repatriate the bodies of killed soldiers were the only concrete agreements to come out of the talks.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian government agency announced that “the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine”.
Among the returned soldiers were those killed fighting in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Kyiv said, as well as those who were killed during Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine said its experts “will identify the deceased as soon as possible”.
Moscow spent days accusing Kyiv of not wanting to collect the bodies that it alleged had been waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border since Saturday.
Russia said it agreed last week to unilaterally hand over the bodies of 6,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers. Kyiv said it would be an “exchange”.
The two sides also agreed a large-scale prisoner swap — the first stages of which were completed on Monday and Tuesday.
Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and is demanding that Ukraine give up large swathes of territory and its bid to join NATO if it wants peace.
Moscow has also continued to hit Ukrainian cities with missile and drone attacks.
The latest overnight wave of strikes early on Wednesday killed three people in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Ukraine has responded with its own drone attacks on Russia.