Ukraine denies rumours of new exchange of bodies of fallen soldiers

Illustrative photo: Coordination Centre for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that Russian media reports about the alleged start of the return of the bodies of fallen soldiers after the Istanbul agreements are false.

The headquarters explained that they are currently preparing for the exchange of seriously ill, wounded, and young people and the return of the bodies of the dead, but that no concrete actions have yet begun.

They also stressed that any unilateral statements by Russia are manipulations on a sensitive topic.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has already returned the bodies of more than 7,000 defenders. During the last exchange on 16 May, 909 bodies were returned.

As a reminder, during the second round of talks in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement on the exchange of several categories of prisoners of war. The parties agreed not to focus on the number of prisoners, but to exchange all seriously wounded and sick soldiers, as well as all prisoners aged 18 to 25, within the format of «all for all».