Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – As part of an arrangement reached at peace discussions last month, Russia handed over to Ukraine the bodies of 1,000 troops on Thursday, Russia’s top negotiator expressed on social media.
Two rounds of discussion in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine have not produced any result or any advancement towards a ceasefire, instead rendering large-scale prisoner exchanges and arrangements to return the bodies of killed troops.
“Following the agreements reached in Istanbul, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today,”
Moscow’s chief negotiator, and Kremlin associate, Vladimir Medinsky, expressed on Telegram. Kyiv gave over 19 killed Russian troops, he also said.
As reported, Medinsky also posted pictures showing people in white medical suits lifting white body loads from the back of refrigerated trucks.
What triggered the latest body exchange between rivals?
This exchange is part of a larger deal between Ukraine and Russia to return up to 6,000 bodies on each side, as well as POWs who are sick or injured. The ever-increasing number of bodies returned to Ukraine has been characterized as being some of the largest repatriations since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Exchanges of captured troops and the return of remains have consistently occurred during the conflict, representing some of the few successful diplomatic efforts between the sides.
How many soldiers’ remains has Russia returned so far?
The first significant body exchange by Russia and Ukraine under the Istanbul agreement occurred in early June 2025. By June 8, 2025, both sides’ officials confirmed that an exchange of prisoners of war and dead soldiers was upcoming and would occur that week. By June 15, 2025, Russia transferred another 1,200 Ukrainian bodies, bringing the total number of repatriated Ukrainian bodies to the number of over 4,800 since the start of exchanges under the agreement.
Why has a formal ceasefire not been reached yet?
Despite multiple rounds of negotiations since early June 2025 and meetings in Istanbul, they have yet to formalize a ceasefire agreement.
Moscow has ignored requests for a truce despite the urging of US President Donald Trump, and it remains uncertain how far apart the two countries are from achieving a resolution to their three-year dispute. At the discussions last month, Moscow delineated a checklist of hardline demands, including for Kyiv to surrender more territory and to abandon all arrangements of Western military aid.
Ukraine overlooked them as inappropriate ultimatums and has challenged the point of further talks if Russia is not ready to make compromises.
