Moscow later acknowledged the repatriation, stating it had received 31 bodies from Kyiv.
KYIV: Russia has returned 1,000 bodies to Ukraine, which Moscow claims are the remains of Kyiv’s soldiers killed in battle.
A Ukrainian government agency confirmed the exchange took place on Thursday.
Moscow later acknowledged the repatriation, stating it had received 31 bodies from Kyiv.
The exchange of prisoners and soldiers’ remains represents one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the warring nations.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced the repatriation measures on social media.
The agency specified that one thousand bodies, identified by Russia as belonging to Ukrainian servicemen, were returned to Ukraine.
Ukraine has previously stated that Moscow handed over the bodies of Russian soldiers during earlier repatriation efforts.
Kyiv also reported receiving the remains of 1,000 soldiers from Russia in September, August and July.
These repeated large-scale returns illustrate the intense fighting occurring across the extensive front line.
The Coordination Headquarters confirmed that law enforcement would soon begin identifying the repatriated remains.
It expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for facilitating the repatriation process.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have died on both sides since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.
Neither country regularly publishes official data about their own military casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told US media in February that Ukraine had lost more than 46,000 soldiers.
He added that tens of thousands more Ukrainian troops were considered missing in action.
The BBC and independent outlet Mediazona document Russian military deaths using open-source information.
They report having verified more than 135,000 Russian soldiers killed during the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Both organizations believe the actual number of Russian casualties is likely significantly higher. – AFP
