Russia delivers corpses of over 1,200 soldiers to Ukraine
(MENAFN) Russia has returned the remains of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat, according to Kremlin official Vladimir Medinsky, who confirmed the handover on Wednesday as part of ongoing exchanges between Moscow and Kiev.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War first reported the transfer, stating that the bodies were recovered from battle zones in Russia’s Kursk, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Ukraine’s Kharkov Region. Specific identities were not disclosed.
Medinsky, Moscow’s chief negotiator in talks with Kiev, said Russia also received the remains of 27 of its own servicemen. “Now they can be buried in a Christian manner,” he said via Telegram. He added that both sides agreed to begin “urgent sanitary exchanges” involving severely injured prisoners of war, reaffirming that “Russia does not abandon its own.”
Moscow has previously expressed its willingness to return over 6,000 Ukrainian bodies, but accused Kiev of delaying acceptance. The latest handover was arranged during peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. However, Medinsky noted that although Russia delivered the bodies to the agreed exchange locations, Ukrainian representatives failed to appear, allegedly rescheduling without notification.
Despite the hiccup, Russian Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin emphasized Moscow's commitment to the agreement, calling it a humanitarian act—“not the first of its kind, and unfortunately, not the last.”
Alongside the return of remains, Russia and Ukraine have also agreed to conduct multiple prisoner-of-war exchanges. Following the second round of Istanbul negotiations, between 1,000 and 1,200 soldiers have reportedly been swapped.
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