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Ukraine Repatriates 1,000 Fallen Soldiers, Including Five POWs Who Died in Russian Captivity
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![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
In a significant repatriation operation, Ukraine has received the bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers, who were previously reported missing or killed during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (KSHPPV) report on August 19.
The bodies, which Russian authorities claim belong to Ukrainian military personnel, were returned as part of an agreement based on previous commitments, although there has been criticism regarding the continued delays in fulfilling these exchanges, KSHPPV stated.
Among the returned bodies, five Ukrainian soldiers were confirmed to have died while in Russian captivity. These soldiers had been part of an earlier exchange agreement during the second round of peace talks in Istanbul, where they were listed as “severely wounded and critically ill” prisoners.
Despite this, Russia has continued to delay fulfilling its obligations, and Ukraine is now pushing for the immediate release of all critically ill and severely wounded prisoners.
The repatriation also includes soldiers who fought on frontlines in regions such as Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kursk—areas that have witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in the war.
The identification process for the returned bodies is now underway, with forensic examinations being carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and expert institutions.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, along with other Ukrainian authorities, played a main role in organizing the logistics of the repatriation, which also involved collaboration with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
The KSHPPV has expressed deep gratitude for the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whose involvement was important to facilitating the return of the bodies.
The Ukrainian authorities also acknowledged the important contribution of the Central Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Joint Center for Security Measures, which coordinated the transport of the bodies to specialized institutions for further examination and identification.
Previously, it was reported that since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged more than 10,000 service members through a secret channel—a level of systematic exchange that military historians call a rare phenomenon in modern warfare.
