Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 502 soldiers who died fighting against Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Nov. 29.
The Geneva Conventions stipulate that those who lose their lives during war are entitled to a dignified burial. As of early March, Ukraine has identified more than 2,800 bodies and body fragments of fallen soldiers, according to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
The bodies of 397 soldiers were recovered from Donetsk Oblast, while 64 were brought back from Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and 24 from Luhansk Oblast. Another 17 bodies were repatriated from morgues in Russia.
"Law enforcement officials and forensic experts will identify those killed," the headquarters wrote in a post on Telegram.
The operation to recover the fallen soldiers involved several government and military agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Interior Ministry, the State Emergency Service, and the Armed Forces.
The headquarters also thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its assistance.
On Nov. 8, the bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian soldiers were returned to Ukraine. Meanwhile, on Oct. 18, the bodies of 501 Ukrainian troops were also retrieved.
In late February, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during the full-scale invasion.
Chris York
(Updated: )
