MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Russia hands over deceased soldiers to Kyiv; Prisoner exchange scheduled for Thursday
After a grueling struggle, Russia has returned the remains of 1,212 fallen Ukrainian soldiers from the battlefield, following an agreement made during peace talks in Istanbul last week. This exchange is one of several planned as both nations work towards a larger, more comprehensive prisoner swap.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian government agency announced, "the remains of 1,212 courageous defenders have returned to Ukraine". This handover was confirmed by Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, who also shared that Russia had received the remains of 27 Russian soldiers.
Ukraine has yet to provide specifics regarding the bodies returned to Russia. However, Medinsky indicated that urgent "sanitary exchanges" of severely wounded prisoners would commence the following day.
Earlier exchanges, which took place on Monday and Tuesday, involved wounded soldiers and those under the age of 25 - though neither side revealed the exact number of prisoners released. Among the returned bodies on Wednesday, the remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action within various regions, such as Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, were identified by Kiev. Soldiers who lost their lives during Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region were included as well.
Denouncing allegations of withholding the bodies, Ukraine asserted that their specialists would work diligently to identify the deceased as promptly as possible. Russia plans to unilaterally hand over the remains of an estimated 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers - a proposal that Ukraine considers to be an "exchange."
These prisoner exchanges represent the only tangible outcome from two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul, at which Russia declined calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine cede substantial territories and abandon its effort to join NATO. Despite this progress, a broader, comprehensive peace agreement has remained out of reach.
[1] Revisited peace talks in Istanbul lead to the largest planned prisoner swap since the conflict began, with over 500 Ukrainian prisoners released.[2] A significant prisoner swap involving 1,000 prisoners of war and civilians took place earlier in May 2025, marking the largest exchange since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The exchange was facilitated by direct talks in Istanbul, with Turkey hosting the negotiations. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman, was present to oversee the exchange and ensure adherence to the Geneva Convention. Ukraine continues to push for an "all-for-all" swap, which Russia has yet to agree to. The prisoner exchanges are part of ongoing efforts to address the significant numbers of captives, with over 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers and more than 16,000 civilians estimated to be in Russian captivity.
- The ongoing prisoner swaps in the context of war-and-conflicts in Ukraine are not limited to military personnel, as over 16,000 civilians are estimated to be in Russian captivity.
- Politics and general news are closely intertwined in the ongoing prisoner exchange talks in Istanbul, with Russia declining calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanding strategic concessions from Ukraine.
