Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 1,245 fallen soldiers and citizens, marking the final phase of an exchange agreement brokered during recent peace talks in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced on Monday.

This brings the total number of Ukrainian bodies returned under the deal to 6,057. “Each undergoes identification. Behind every one is a name, a life, a family waiting for answers,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote on Facebook, vowing to continue efforts to bring back prisoners of war.

The operation, coordinated by Ukraine’s Security Service, military, Interior Ministry, Ombudsman’s Office, and other institutions, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross, follows the largest prisoner swap of the war in late May, involving 1,000 prisoners per side, and additional exchanges of wounded soldiers last week.

Russia’s Vladimir Medinsky claimed Moscow received 78 deceased servicemen’s bodies. On June 7, Russia accused Ukraine of rejecting a body return, releasing footage purportedly showing Ukrainian corpses in refrigeration units. Kyiv rejected the claim, with Andrii Yusov of Ukraine’s POW Coordination Headquarters telling Ukrainian Pravda the footage was filmed in Russia, not at an agreed exchange site.

Ukraine continues to push for an “all-for-all” prisoner swap, having secured over 5,000 returns from Russian captivity since March 2022, though Moscow resists a full exchange. (ILKHA)