261 Bodies Returned to Ukraine as Part of Latest Exchange With Russia

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged the bodies of people killed during the war, with 261 bodies returned to Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The headquarters said the remains were transferred to Ukraine following joint repatriation efforts involving representatives of the Coordination Headquarters, the Security Service of Ukraine’s Joint Center, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Commissioner for Missing Persons, the State Emergency Service, and other security and defense agencies.

According to the Russian side, the repatriated bodies belong to military personnel.

Ukrainian investigators and forensic experts will now carry out the necessary procedures to establish the identities of those returned.

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The exchange follows a previous repatriation in which Ukraine received the bodies of 501 people whom Russian authorities also claimed were Ukrainian military personnel. The remains were similarly subjected to identification and forensic examinations on July 16.

In some previous exchanges, Russia has also returned the remains of its own servicemen to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have suggested that such cases could help Moscow avoid compensation payments to the families of fallen Russian soldiers or may reflect negligence in handling the remains of its personnel.

The repatriation comes as hundreds of Ukrainian servicemen remain in Russian captivity. More than 600 members of Ukraine’s Azov Brigade are still being held by Russia, including more than 20 in critical condition, while nearly half have been convicted on what the brigade says are fabricated charges.

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