As a result of the repatriation activities conducted, the bodies of 1200 fallen soldiers were returned to Ukraine, reported the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
«According to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, particularly servicemen. The repatriation took place according to the agreements in Istanbul», — stated in the message. Investigators of law enforcement agencies, together with expert institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will carry out all necessary examinations and conduct the identification of the repatriated bodies.
On June 11, Ukraine already returned 1212 bodies of fallen defenders. The Coordination Headquarters noted that among the returned «on the shield» defenders were those who fell in the Kursk region, as well as in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Russia received 27 bodies of fallen soldiers.
On June 2, during negotiations in Istanbul, the delegations of Ukraine and Russia agreed on the exchange of severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of fallen fighters.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, then reported that «they agreed on the return of 6 thousand bodies of fallen soldiers (in exchange) for 6 thousand». However, there is currently no information on the transfer of the bodies of fallen servicemen to Russia.