Ukraine and Russia have carried out a new exchange of bodies of fallen soldiers, Ukrainian officials and Russian state media confirmed on Thursday, marking the latest somber handover in a war that has shown no sign of abating.
Ukraine’s prisoner-of-war coordination center said it had received 1,000 bodies, while Russia retrieved 30, according to state news agency TASS, which cited an unnamed source.
Ukrainian authorities said investigators and specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs would begin examinations to identify the remains. “Investigators from law enforcement bodies, together with expert agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will soon conduct all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies,” the center said on Telegram, as reported in Reuters.
Both sides have previously conducted similar exchanges throughout the conflict, which began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Live prisoners have also been swapped, though negotiations remain tense and limited.
Face-to-face peace talks have been stalled, with the last meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators taking place on July 23 in Istanbul and lasting only 40 minutes. Efforts to revive diplomacy have faltered, and divisions widened on Thursday as several European nations pushed back against a U.S.-backed peace plan. According to sources, the proposal would require Kyiv to surrender additional territory and partially disarm — terms Ukraine’s allies have long viewed as tantamount to capitulation.
Ukraine has previously accused Russia of returning bodies in poor condition or failing to follow agreed procedures, and in some cases sending back the remains of Russian soldiers instead. Moscow has denied these claims.
