Ukraine brings back bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers
Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Feb. 26.
The exchange comes as talks between Ukraine and the U.S. continue in Geneva, Switzerland, with preparations underway for a new round of trilateral negotiations with Russia that Washington hopes to broker in the coming weeks.
"Law enforcement investigators, together with representatives of Ukrainian expert institutions, will take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the repatriated deceased," the Coordination Headquarters said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia, in turn, received the bodies of 35 fallen Russian soldiers, Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti reported.
Ukraine previously returned the bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers during a repatriation mission on Jan. 29.
Despite enduring heavier losses in its war against Ukraine, Russia is likely handing over more bodies than it receives since its troops have captured more Ukrainian bodies than vice versa, since they have been on the offensive for most of the war, according to Kyiv-based independent analytical platform VoxUkraine.
The Istanbul agreements refer to the 2025 Moscow-Kyiv negotiations held in Turkey, which have paved the way for Ukraine to repatriate its fallen soldiers' bodies from Russia. The first repatriation under the Istanbul Agreements took place in June, and thousands of bodies have been returned since then.
In its Telegram post, the Coordination Headquarters thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its help to carry out the latest repatriation, in addition to the civil-military cooperation with Ukraine's Armed Forces, the Joint Center for the Provision of measures of the Armed Forces, and law enforcement agencies under the Interior Ministry and Health Ministry.
