Ukraine repatriates bodies of 252 fallen Ukrainians
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Ukraine brought back the bodies of 252 Ukrainians from Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on Sept. 17.
Citing Russian authorities, the headquarters said the bodies "belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel."
"Law enforcement investigators, together with expert institutions of the Interior Ministry, will conduct all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies," the headquarters said.
The repatriation was carried out through the joint efforts of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center under the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces, the Interior Ministry, the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service and other security and defense agencies, according to the statement.
Despite suffering heavier losses in the war, Russia is likely to hand over more Ukrainian bodies than Ukraine hands over Russian bodies because Russian forces have captured more Ukrainian bodies during offensive operations, according to the Kyiv-based independent analytical platform VoxUkraine.
The return of fallen Ukrainian soldiers has accelerated since peace talks resumed in early 2025. Repatriation operations have become one of the few areas of continued humanitarian cooperation between Ukraine and Russia.
In its Telegram post, the Coordination Headquarters thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for assisting with the latest repatriation, as well as Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel involved in transporting the returned bodies.
The latest repatriation follows a previous operation on Aug. 13, when Ukraine brought home the bodies of 261 deceased individuals that Russia said could belong to Ukrainian service members.
While Ukraine regularly reports the number of repatriated bodies it receives from Russia, it does not publish data on the remains of Russian soldiers returned to Moscow. The figures are not publicly available.
