Russia declares willingness to hand over 3,000 more bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers
(MENAFN) Russia has announced its readiness to hand over the remains of an additional 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers if Kiev agrees to receive them, said Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow’s chief negotiator in the Ukraine conflict. He also denied Kiev’s accusation that a Russian soldier’s body was mistakenly included among the Ukrainian remains in a previous exchange.
So far, Russia has returned 6,060 sets of remains, while Ukraine has handed over the bodies of 79 Russian soldiers, following an agreement reached at the latest direct talks in Türkiye earlier this month. Medinsky’s Ukrainian counterpart, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, had indicated Kiev’s intention to reciprocate with an equal number of Russian bodies.
The handover process faced delays after Ukraine initially refused to accept the first transfer on June 7, blaming Russia for rushing the exchange. However, the swap went ahead the following day, with further transfers continuing in the past week.
Medinsky stated on Friday that the Russian military is prepared to transfer about 3,000 more bodies to allow families to identify their loved ones and provide them with a proper Christian burial.
Addressing Kiev’s claims about a Russian soldier’s remains being mixed with Ukrainian bodies, Medinsky clarified that the incident happened during a February exchange, which Ukraine had already acknowledged. He assured that Moscow is investigating the matter.
Earlier accusations from Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klimenko, who claimed Russia was deliberately complicating identification by mislabeling some remains, were dismissed by Medinsky as propaganda, comparing it to Nazi-era misinformation. He urged Ukrainian negotiators to prevent Western media from spreading falsehoods.
Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky has previously estimated that Ukraine lost up to 100,000 soldiers since 2022, while Russian Defense Ministry figures suggest even higher casualties. Putin recently described Ukraine’s military losses as “catastrophic,” citing over 76,000 casualties in the Kursk Region alone.
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