In a significant development amid ongoing hostilities, Ukraine announced on Friday that it had received the bodies of 563 soldiers from Russian authorities.
Most of the remains belonged to troops who had fallen in combat in the eastern Donetsk region, reflecting one of the largest repatriations of Ukrainian servicemen since Russia’s invasion began in 2022.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Ukraine’s body managing the treatment and repatriation of military personnel, confirmed the handover in a social media statement, saying, “The bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine.”
This repatriation underscores the few remaining channels of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv, focused on humanitarian exchanges such as prisoner swaps and the return of fallen soldiers.
According to the Coordination Headquarters, 320 of the remains were retrieved from the Donetsk region, including 89 soldiers killed in the intense fighting near Bakhmut—a town that fell to Russian forces in May 2023 following a prolonged and costly battle.
Additionally, 154 bodies were returned from morgues within Russia itself.
Since the conflict’s escalation, both sides have refrained from publicly disclosing the total military death toll. However, this large-scale transfer of remains highlights the grave human cost of the ongoing war and the solemn duty of both nations to repatriate and honor their fallen.
As the conflict persists, Ukraine and Russia’s commitment to humanitarian exchanges remains one of the few points of interaction, underscoring the heavy toll on soldiers and their families amidst the conflict’s unyielding demands.