Ukraine has received the remains of 1,212 fallen servicemembers as part of a recently agreed exchange with Russia, officials confirmed.

The bodies were returned from multiple regions, including Russia’s Kursk area and Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, according to the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

“Forensic experts and law enforcement will begin the identification process immediately,” the agency said in a statement.

Disputed exchange timing and official statements

The body transfer follows a broader agreement reached during the second round of Ukraine–Russia negotiations in Istanbul on 2 June. The deal covers the exchange of all critically wounded or seriously ill prisoners of war, as well as all servicemembers aged 18 to 25.

Both sides also agreed to repatriate the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers from each side.

Russia claimed it delivered the remains on 7 June but alleged that Ukraine initially declined to accept them. Ukrainian officials countered that a final date for the transfer had not been agreed at that time.

“We handed over 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian troops. In return, we received 27 fallen Russian servicemen,” said Vladimir Medinsky, aide to the Russian president and head of the Russian delegation, via Telegram.

New rounds of exchanges underway

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) later released photos of the returned remains and thanked the International Red Cross for its assistance.

Additional exchanges have since taken place. On 9 June, Ukraine and Russia carried out a further transfer of prisoners—reportedly including wounded and severely injured servicemembers, as well as those under 25—though exact figures were not disclosed.

A second phase occurred on 10 June, with more wounded Ukrainian soldiers returning home. “12 June, we will begin urgent ‘medical exchanges’ of severely wounded prisoners from the front line,” Medinsky added.

This large-scale agreement on repatriations remains the only publicly confirmed result of the 2 June Istanbul talks.