Russia has handed over the remains of 522 people to Ukraine, while it claims to have recovered the bodies of 33 soldiers. Kyiv has not yet confirmed this part of the exchange.
Russia handed over the remains of 522 people to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Center for Prisoners of War announced on Thursday. A member of the Russian Duma claims that Moscow received 33 bodies of soldiers, which Kyiv has not yet confirmed. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
The aforementioned center said on the social network that the handover of the remains took place “thanks to repatriation efforts”. “According to the Russian side, these bodies belonged to citizens of Ukraine, specifically soldiers,” it added.
State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliyev confirmed to the RBC news portal that Moscow handed over the bodies to Ukraine. It received the remains of 33 Russian soldiers, although Kiev has not yet confirmed this information. AFP notes that the exchange took place after both countries launched large-scale attacks on Thursday night, which also targeted Kiev and Moscow.
Negotiations to end the war, which has lasted more than four years, are stagnating. The exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of fallen fighters has been one of the few areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of the war.
