Russia returns 563 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers

Ukraine has announced the repatriation of 563 soldiers’ bodies from Russian authorities, marking one of the largest exchanges of military remains since the war began in 2022. The bodies, mainly of troops who died in combat in the eastern Donetsk region, were returned through a coordinated effort between the two countries.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed the exchange on social media, stating that 320 bodies were brought back from the Donetsk area, with 89 of the soldiers having fallen near Bakhmut, the town captured by Russian forces in May 2023 after an intense battle. Another 154 bodies were returned from morgues in Russia.

This exchange of bodies and prisoners remains one of the rare areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow, despite the ongoing conflict. However, neither Russia nor Ukraine has disclosed official figures regarding the total number of military casualties since the start of the war. The repatriation underscores the continued human cost of the conflict, with efforts to return fallen soldiers to their home countries continuing amid the broader geopolitical tensions.