Repatriation Update: 1000 Bodies Returned to Ukraine
Ukraine has successfully completed repatriation efforts, returning the bodies of 1000 fallen soldiers.
This information was shared by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War via Telegram.
Today, the repatriation activities were conducted as part of pre-agreed arrangements. According to the Russian side, 1000 bodies, which they claim belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine. Unfortunately, among those repatriated are 5 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers who died in captivity. They were listed as “severely wounded and gravely ill” prisoners for exchange as per agreements reached in Istanbul during the second round of negotiations. The Russian side continues to delay and fails to fulfill its commitments. Ukraine insists on the urgent release of all severely ill and wounded captives and fights for the return of all its citizens. Among those returned today are defenders from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kursk directions. In the near future, all necessary examinations and identifications of the repatriated bodies will be carried out by law enforcement agencies in conjunction with expert institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The success of these repatriation efforts is attributed to the collaborative work of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center under the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and other security and defense structures of Ukraine. We express our gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for their assistance. Special thanks to the personnel of the Central Administration of the Armed Forces and the Joint Center for providing repatriation services, which facilitates the transportation of repatriated individuals to designated state specialized institutions and organizes the handover of the deceased to law enforcement for forensic examination.
