Russia Returns More Bodies of Fallen Ukrainian Soldiers

Russia has returned an additional 1,200 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, according to a report published Friday by the state-run Russian news agency TASS.

While the transfer of Ukrainian soldiers' remains was completed, no bodies of Russian servicemen were returned by Ukraine.

The move follows a June 2 meeting in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, during which Moscow offered to repatriate the remains of up to 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The talks also covered proposals for exchanging seriously wounded prisoners of war and detainees under the age of 25.

On Wednesday, Russia handed over the remains of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine returned the bodies of just 27 Russian servicemen. In addition to the repatriations, two prisoner exchanges were carried out this week in line with the Istanbul agreements.

Reports suggest that Ukrainian authorities initially refused to accept the bodies when Russian trucks arrived at a prearranged transfer point along the Russian-Ukrainian border last weekend. According to Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian negotiation team, Ukrainian officials declined to receive the remains when they arrived at the border checkpoint.

Ukrainian sources have alleged that President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to accept the bodies due to financial concerns, as Ukrainian law mandates compensation payments to the families of deceased soldiers.

Some Western analysts have also stated that by accepting 6,000 bodies, it could undermine Zelensky’s claim that only 48,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed so far in the nearly 40-month long war.

The apparent discrepancy in the number of returned bodies between the two sides may be explained by the fact that Russia has been on the offensive since October 2023 and is therefore likely to have custody of a significantly larger number of fallen Ukrainian troops.

Russian media have also reported that many of the bodies being returned are believed to belong to Ukrainian soldiers who participated in an offensive in the Kursk region. Their remains were reportedly left behind when Russia regained control of the territory earlier this spring.