Russia has returned the bodies of 1,245 Ukrainian soldiers, Kyiv said Monday, marking the final stage of a deal reached this month to repatriate more than 6,000 fallen troops.
The agreement, which also included prisoner exchanges, was the only tangible outcome from two rounds of peace talks held in Istanbul.
“Another 1,245 bodies returned to Ukraine — the repatriation part of the Istanbul agreements has been completed,” Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Kyiv had received more than 6,000 bodies over the past week.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported a slightly higher figure of 1,248 for the final stage, saying it had “fulfilled the agreement.” It also offered to hand over another 2,239 bodies.
Moscow said it received the remains of 51 Russian soldiers in the latest exchange, bringing the total number of bodies returned by Ukraine to 78.
Kyiv initially said the two sides had agreed to a mutual exchange of 6,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers, while Moscow described the returns as a unilateral initiative.
Tens of thousands of troops have been killed on both sides since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to independent monitors and Western intelligence. Neither country publishes regular or independently verifiable casualty figures.
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