This is one of the rare areas of cooperation between the two belligerent countries. kyiv announced this Saturday that Russia had returned to Ukraine 528 bodies presented as those of Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat.
“As a result of repatriation efforts, the bodies of 528 deceased people were brought back to Ukraine; according to the Russian side, they could be Ukrainian soldiers,” the Ukrainian Center for Prisoners of War indicated on social networks, without specifying the date of receipt of the remains.
Investigators and experts “will carry out all necessary steps to identify the repatriated deceased persons,” added the Center. The day before, Russia and Ukraine carried out an exchange of 205 prisoners of war from each side.
A thousand prisoners exchanged from each camp
Last Friday, Donald Trump announced a three-day truce in the conflict between kyiv and Moscow, from Saturday to Monday, as well as an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each camp. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Friday’s exchange constituted “the first phase” of this announcement by Donald Trump.
Since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, exchanges of prisoners and remains of fighters have been among the very few areas of cooperation between Moscow and kyiv.
Ukraine and Russia resumed their respective strikes during the night from Monday to Tuesday. One person was killed Saturday in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, regional authorities said.
