Ukraine Repatriates 1,000 Fallen Soldiers in First Transfer of 2026

Ukraine has repatriated 1,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, with preliminary information from the Russian side suggesting that these remains may belong to Ukrainian defenders.

This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on February 25.

According to the statement, this became possible due to the coordinated work of the Joint Center at the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other security and defense sector institutions.

Further actions aimed at identifying the deceased will be carried out by law enforcement investigators and representatives of expert institutions in Ukraine.

The headquarters also expressed gratitude to the oint Center for Civil-Military Cooperation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for its assistance in facilitating the repatriation.

“Special thanks go to the personnel of the Joint Center for Civil-Military Cooperation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who are responsible for transporting repatriated deceased individuals to designated state specialized institutions, organizing the transfer of bodies to law enforcement representatives within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the forensic medical examination system within the Ministry of Health, as well as to representatives of the Civil-Military Cooperation structures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who coordinate the overall process,” the headquaters wrote.

Earlier, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War carried out its first exchange of prisoners in 2026. Following the orders of the President of Ukraine, 150 military personnel and 7 civilians were released from Russian captivity.

The freed individuals included soldiers from various branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, such as the Navy, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense, Airborne Forces, Air Force, National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service.

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