Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more bodies of their war dead, according to a Kremlin aide, as part of an agreement reached during a second round of peace talks in Turkiye last month.
About 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers have been exchanged for the bodies of 19 Russian soldiers.
“Following the agreements reached in Istanbul, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today,” Vladimir Medinsky, head of Russia’s delegation at the peace talks, said on Telegram on Thursday, adding that Ukraine handed over 19 slain Russian soldiers.
Exchanges of captured soldiers and the repatriation of remains have taken place regularly since the brief renewal of peace talks in Istanbul in May in what amounts to some of the only successful diplomacy between the two sides in their more than three-year war.
Medinsky posted photos on Thursday showing people in white medical suits lifting white body bags from the back of refrigerated trucks.
Russia plans to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and this exchange marked the beginning of that process, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.
During their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2, Russia and Ukraine pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers on each side.
Negotiators from both sides also agreed to swap all severely wounded soldiers as well as all captured fighters under the age of 25.
But future talks to discuss a path to end the war have stalled as the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv has remained unchanged despite repeated pressure from United States President Donald Trump that Russia agree to a ceasefire.
At the talks, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.
Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable ultimatums and has questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow is not willing to make concessions.
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Russia, Ukraine exchange more bodies of war dead, Kremlin says
About 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers have been exchanged for the bodies of 19 Russian soldiers.