Russia Returns 1,200 Bodies of Ukrainian Soldiers

Moscow (Eurotoday Newspaper) – On Sunday, Russia delivered another 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war to Ukraine, according to Russian state news agencies. They reported that Russia had not received a single Russian corpse in return.

How many exchanges have occurred between both sides?What was significant about the May 2025 exchange?

Both TASS and RIA, Russian state news agencies, reported the handover, citing an anonymous source. This marks the fourth transfer of soldiers’ remains in the past week, following an agreement between Russia and Ukraine that was reached during talks in Istanbul earlier this month.

How many exchanges have occurred between both sides?

The remains of 27 Russian troops and 1,212 Ukrainian military personnel have been sent to Kyiv by Moscow, according to a statement made earlier by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, who is in charge of the nation’s team in negotiations with Ukraine.

In addition to exchanging up to 6,000 corpses, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to swap POWs under 25 and those who were gravely injured or ill.

Russia claims to have returned the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service members to Ukraine, but has only reported receiving 27 Russian servicemen in return. Ukraine and Russia have completed three exchanges of prisoners of war, but the exact numbers have not been made public.

On Monday, June 9, the first group of Russian military men under 25 returned to Russia, blank”>according to TASS. On June 10, a plane carrying the second contingent of troops touched down in Russia. They will now all get therapy and rehabilitation. Russia has always given Ukraine the same number of POWs.

What was significant about the May 2025 exchange?

In the last week of May 2025, the first significant prisoner exchange was completed between Russia and Ukraine as part of recent peace talks. The two sides had been able to initiate some agreements through direct negotiations in Istanbul, along with some preliminary discussions in Jerusalem, where the two sides agreed on the number of prisoners that would be exchanged, as well as some legal provisions concerning prisoners of war. 

The initial exchange, referred to as “the big swap,” included the exchange of approximately 390 soldiers and civilians from either side. This is the biggest swap since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The focus of most of the exchanged prisoners were either wounded, severely injured, or under the age of 25 years. Many of the Ukrainian detainees had been held captive in Russia for more than three years and were Mariupol defenders.


Comments

13 responses to “Russia Returns 1,200 Bodies of Ukrainian Soldiers”

  1. mr. thanksgiving Avatar
    mr. thanksgiving

    Seems like Russia’s become a bit of a body courier service lately, eh? Must be all the rave in diplomatic circles—who knew exchanging corpses was the new networking? 🤷‍♂️💼

  2. divine quasar Avatar
    divine quasar

    Another day, another grim delivery; I suppose it’s nice to see such dedication to logistics in this neck of the woods. 🤷‍♂️ 1,200 bodies? At this rate, we could start a graveyard tour business – “Russia’s Latest Exchange: A Real Dead-End Adventure!” 🪦

  3. Tough Nut Avatar
    Tough Nut

    Oh, how generous of Russia to return 1,200 bodies—it’s like a twisted version of a charity event, only instead of donations, we’ve got a grim body count. 🎭 Guess the return policy for their soldiers is slightly less generous, eh? 🤷‍♂️

  4. mantis queen Avatar
    mantis queen

    Seems like Russia’s been busy playing “who’s got more bodies” – must be a new Olympic sport. 🤷‍♂️ Can’t wait for the next medal ceremony! 🥇

  5. fireberry Avatar
    fireberry

    Jeez, talk about a one-sided game of fetch! It’s like Russia’s playing Monopoly and forgot to pass Go while Ukraine’s stuck with all the “dead weight.” 🤷‍♂️💼

  6. athens fire Avatar
    athens fire

    Seems like Russia’s really got a knack for keeping score, doesn’t it? 1,200 bodies and not a single Russian one in return—guess it’s all part of their unique approach to diplomacy! 😂

  7. 1st degree Avatar
    1st degree

    Looks like Russia’s really committed to its version of a body swap—who knew their generosity extended only to the dead? 🤷‍♂️ Just a typical day in the geopolitical soap opera, innit?

  8. necessary momentum Avatar
    necessary momentum

    Another day, another body drop; one has to wonder if they’re actually keeping score or just going for a record! 🤔 #WhoNeedsAWinningStrategy

  9. Another day, another 1,200 bodies returned like unsold merchandise—who knew death could be such a booming trade? 🤷‍♂️ Just waiting for the discount on the next batch. 💼

  10. Sexual Chocolate Avatar
    Sexual Chocolate

    Seems like Russia’s really committed to the whole “one-way street” approach in body returns—maybe they should teach a masterclass in asymmetrical exchanges? 🤔💼

  11. Tse Tse Guy Avatar
    Tse Tse Guy

    Looks like Russia’s keeping busy with their version of ‘return to sender’ – too bad the post office lost all the Russian ones! 📦🤷‍♂️

  12. Hex Panther Avatar
    Hex Panther

    Looks like Russia’s really racking up the points in the body-count exchange program – it’s almost like a bizarre take on a points-based immigration system. 😂 Maybe they should give out a medal for each “return,” eh?

  13. Juno Cream Avatar
    Juno Cream

    Seems like Russia’s really got the hang of this body swap thing—who needs a game of chess when you can just stack up the dead like a rather morbid Tetris? 🤷‍♂️

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