Moscow: Russia and Ukraine on Thursday exchanged bodies of fallen soldiers under the Istanbul deal, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said.
“In continuation of the Istanbul agreements, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today,” said Medinsky, also Russia’s chief negotiator at the talks with the Ukrainian side.
He added that 19 bodies of Russian soldiers were received.
During their last round of talks on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an “all-for-all” exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, and soldiers under the age of 25, as well as the transfer of the bodies of fallen soldiers, Xinhua news agency reported.
During the talks, which lasted over an hour, the two sides solved several “practical problems,” according to Medinsky. He had said that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to set up permanent medical commissions that would regularly compile lists of seriously wounded soldiers and facilitate their exchange.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine received 1,000 bodies of individuals killed in the bilateral conflict from Russia, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
“According to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel,” the government agency said in a statement.
The repatriation was made possible through the coordinated efforts of the Ukrainian government agencies, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Ukrainian experts will conduct all the necessary examinations to identify the repatriated bodies.
Earlier on June 16, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky had said that Russia had transferred the bodies of 6,060 fallen soldiers to Ukraine.
Russia had agreed to return the bodies of 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers after Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
Earlier on June 14, Russia and Ukraine had conducted another prisoner swap. Russia returned the remains of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers.
Earlier on June 11, Russia had transferred 1,212 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine.
Medinsky said on Telegram that 27 bodies of Russian soldiers were returned.
(IANS)
