"Muddying the Waters": Russia Reportedly Swaps Russian Soldier Corpses with Ukrainian Ones
Ukraine received the remains of Russian soldiers.
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Russia has passed on over 6,000 bodies in recent times. Ukraine, however, claims these aren't solely Ukrainian casualties. This isn't the first time Russia has allegedly jumbled the dead.
Ukraine's Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, stated in Kyiv that among the countless Russian soldiers' bodies returned, they likewise received bodies of Russian soldiers. While he didn't specify the exact number of such cases in a Telegram post, he pointed out that the enemy is deliberately complicating the identification of the deceased and intentionally sowing chaos by mixing the bodies of Russian soldiers with those of Ukrainians. Photos circulated online seemingly depicting the military ID and identification tag of a dead Russian soldier being handed over to Ukraine, yet independent corroboration has not been verified.
Politics Did Putin Actually Threaten Germany? A Look at Russia's Aggression Russia has returned more than 6,000 bodies to Ukraine in recent times, with Moscow receiving over 50 bodies back. This, in addition to the exchange of prisoners, was part of the humanitarian concessions agreed upon by both warring parties in early June. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the first to publicly claim Russia was also returning bodies of its own soldiers to Ukraine.
On Thursday, a prisoner exchange transpired for the fifth time between Ukraine and Russia. These inclusively comprised military personnel, national guardsmen, and border guardsmen, as per Zelenskyy's Telegram post. The Office for the Affairs of Prisoners of War stated that many soldiers who were severely injured and seriously ill were exchanged. Most of those released had been held captive for over three years. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the exchange at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border without providing the exact number of soldiers returning home.
In referencing relevant sources: ntv.de and chl/dpa.
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- Russia
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Yes, Russia handed over deceased soldiers during the exchange, but the extent of their condition and identification is uncertain. While Ukraine affirmed Russia returned some bodies of its own soldiers disguised as Ukrainian casualties during the recent exchange of the deceased, which took place under an agreement reached in early June 2025, the specifics of this case were not fully divulged. According to authorities, one of the bodies handed over to Ukraine, labeled No. 192/25, was wearing a Russian military uniform and carried Russian identification belonging to Alexander Viktorovich Bugaev, a Russian soldier missing in action in fighting near Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast earlier that year. Ukrainian authorities asserted that Russia found Bugaev's body but chose to "plant" it within the Ukrainian dead, essentially returning Russian soldiers' bodies disguised as Ukrainian casualties[1].
Regarding prisoners of war, Russia and Ukraine also carried out prisoner exchanges during the same timeframe as part of an agreement reached in June 2025. However, the intricacies of the POW exchange were not explicitly detailed in the available information, leaving open the possibility that bodies of both sides were exchanged beyond the noted case[2].
In essense, Russia returned bodies of soldiers during the exchange, potentially including some of its own soldiers disguised as Ukrainian, and Ukraine received bodies of its fallen soldiers as part of the exchange. This suggests that the exchange of bodies was not entirely straightforward but involved some concealment on Russia's part[1][2].
- The European Union, expressing concern over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has called for a clear and transparent identification process of the deceased during the exchange of bodies between Ukraine and Russia, in an effort to prevent political manipulation.
- Amidst the general-news reports of mixed bodies being exchanged during the prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, the politics of the situation have become increasingly complex, with accusations of deception and significant implications for both countries.
