As part of a painful but vital repatriation process, Ukraine has reportedly received another 1,200 bodies of fallen soldiers from Russia, part of an agreement brokered in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (CHTPW) announces.
The return is part of an agreement reached in Istanbul on 2 June, which provides for the exchange of 6,000 bodies on each side. No other deal was reached at the talks regarding a ceasefire or the end of the war.
This exchange follows two earlier repatriations on 13 June and 11 June, during which 1,200 and 1,212 bodies, respectively, were returned to Ukraine.
According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, this exchange symbolizes a necessary step toward restoring dignity to fallen defenders.
“An agreement was reached to return 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers in exchange for 6,000,” he explains.
In the coming days, Ukrainian law enforcement, forensic teams from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other agencies will conduct examinations and procedures to return names to those unidentified.