Following recent repatriation efforts, Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,200 fallen soldiers, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

“According to the Russian side, the remains belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel. The repatriation was carried out in line with the agreements reached in Istanbul,” the Coordination Headquarters stated.

• What happens next:
  The bodies will undergo forensic examination and identification by Ukrainian investigators and Interior Ministry experts
• This process will restore the names of the fallen heroes and allow families to be notified

On 2 June, during negotiations in Istanbul, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, announced that both parties had agreed to exchange 6,000 fallen soldiers’ remains in a 6,000-for-6,000 swap. 

Earlier, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said to the Ukrainian delegation during recent peace talks in Istanbul that Russia is prepared to fight forever. 

Russia conditioned a ceasefire on Ukraine withdrawing all forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—regions claimed by Moscow since 2022 but only partially occupied. Ukrainian diplomatic sources said Russia also threatened to seize Kharkiv and Sumy, expanding its territorial demands.

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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.

“Unfortunately, this is a real photo.” A doctor caring for prisoners of war could not bear what he saw on the body of his patient, a Ukrainian soldier, who returned from Russian captivity, according to UkrInform. 

The photo showing a Ukrainian soldier with the “Glory to Russia” inscription burned into his body has shocked the Ukrainian community. It is an image of a soldier who was returned to Ukraine during previous exchanges.

Representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Andrii Yusov, has confirmed the authenticity of the shocking image.

“Unfortunately, this is a real photo. During an examination at one of the regional centers where the guys undergo rehabilitation, the doctor simply couldn’t bear what he saw, photographed and posted it,” Yusov says.

Some 90% of Ukrainian military personnel who were freed from Russian captivity reveal violations of detention conditions in one form or another, he adds.

“Violations of detention conditions, necessary nutrition standards, medical care – this is a very common phenomenon in Russian captivity. It is something that the International Committee of the Red Cross and the entire international community must work on and pressure,” Yusov claims.

Ukraine carefully documents all such facts. Yusov notes that critical weight loss by prisoners is regularly recorded during exchanges.

“This is very visually apparent, and there’s a difference in what condition the occupiers return to the so-called Russian Federation and in what condition Ukrainian defenders return,” the HUR representative emphasizes.

This information becomes part of the work of the Ukrainian investigation and justice, as well as Ukraine’s work on international legal platforms.

Ukrainian officials have denied Russian claims that Kyiv failed to participate in a prisoner of war (POW) exchange and body repatriation effort planned on 6 June, saying no official date had yet been agreed upon.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 7 June that Russian officials publicly accused Ukraine of refusing to engage in an exchange of POWs and bodies of killed in action (KIA) soldiers.

According to ISW, the claims were made by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, Russian GRU Deputy Chief Alexander Zorin, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. They alleged that Russia was prepared to hand over severely wounded and sick POWs, those under the age of 25, and approximately 6,000 KIA bodies as agreed in Istanbul on 2 June.

Zorin further claimed that Russian representatives had waited on the Belarusian border for the Ukrainian side to finalize technical details of the exchange. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova and Federation Council Committee Deputy Chair Andrei Klimov also echoed accusations that Ukraine refused to accept the return of the bodies.

Ukraine refutes Russian claims

In response, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs denied all Russian allegations. The office clarified that no date for the repatriation had yet been set and emphasized that lists for the POW exchange were still being finalized between both sides.

The Ukrainian headquarters reaffirmed Ukraine’s “full commitment” to constructive engagement aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of both the KIA repatriation and POW exchange agreements.

“The Kremlin’s unwillingness to engage in good faith in lower-level confidence building measures designed to facilitate larger peace negotiations further demonstrates Russia’s disinterest in peace negotiations,” ISW wrote.

Ukraine’s recent large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia did not include any members of the 12th Special Operations Brigade Azov, according to a statement by the National Guard’s 1st Corps Azov. The three-day swap, which concluded today, involved the return of 1000 prisoners on each side but left out the Azov fighters who had defended Mariupol in early 2022.

In a statement published on Telegram, the National Guard Corps Azov welcomed the exchange of members of two National Guard’s brigades – 14th Chervona Kalyna and 15th Kara-Dag – among those 1,000 prisoners who returned home over the past three days,

“We welcome home every soldier who today returned to their native land. Together we will restore our strength and defend Ukraine with even greater determination,” the statement said.

Then Azov confirmed:

“However, there were no servicemen of the 12th Brigade Azov in this exchange.”

The soldiers of Azov – the National Guard’s regiment at the time – had held off Russian forces alongside marines and local police for 86 days during the siege of Mariupol, delaying their advance and enabling Ukraine to organize its national defense. The defenders of Azovstal steel plant – the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city – were captured after the Ukrainian command ordered them to surrender.

“The fighters who were taken into captivity following orders after 86 days of defending Mariupol have been there for over 3 years,” Azov’s statement reads. “Over 800 Azov fighters are in their fourth year of captivity.”