Russia Returns Bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian Troops in Rare Wartime Exchange

Russia has returned the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including five who reportedly died while in captivity, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced on Tuesday.

The transfer, which Kyiv described as one of the largest repatriations of war dead since the conflict began in February 2022, was conducted under agreements reached during ongoing negotiations in Istanbul.

In exchange, Ukraine handed over the bodies of 19 Russian servicemen, according to Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky.

“Unfortunately, among those repatriated are the bodies of five Ukrainian servicemen who died in captivity,” the Ukrainian agency said in a statement on Telegram. It added that law enforcement authorities and forensic experts had begun the process of identifying the soldiers before returning them to their families.

The exchange underscores one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv despite the grinding war that has killed tens of thousands on both sides. While neither government regularly discloses casualty figures, humanitarian issues such as the return of prisoners of war and fallen soldiers have been handled through ongoing dialogue.

Officials noted that such repatriations have intensified in recent months, with mediators in Istanbul facilitating agreements between the warring parties.

The war, now in its third year, has left deep humanitarian scars, with countless families still awaiting news of missing loved ones.

Tuesday’s exchange, though grim, was seen as a small step in addressing the human cost of the conflict.