Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead, Russian news agencies report
MOSCOW, June 15 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday, saying Moscow had not received a single Russian corpse in return.
Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA both reported the handover, citing an unnamed source.
It is the fourth in a series of handovers of soldiers' remains to take place in the past week, in accordance with an agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine at talks in Istanbul earlier this month.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed to each hand over as many as 6,000 bodies and to exchange sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war and those aged under 25.
Russia says it has so far handed Ukraine the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service personnel, but has only reported receiving a total of 27 Russian servicemen in return.
Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Putin says 'all of Ukraine is ours' and threatens nuclear strike
Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his insistence that Russia will not give up any occupied territory as part of peace negotiations with Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, the Russian president said negotiations need to recognise "the will of the people who live in certain territories". Mr Putin was referring to referendums held by Russian officials in 2022 in four annexed regions of Ukraine, and in Crimea. Those referendums, which were described as "shams" by the UK's foreign secretary at the time, saw all four regions vote to join Russia. "The will of the people is what [we] call democracy," said Mr Putin. He said that he hopes Ukraine's leadership will be "guided by national interests" in negotiations, rather than by the "interests of its sponsors". Those sponsors, he said, "are not interested in ending the conflict, but in using Ukraine for their own selfish political purposes". On Friday, the Russian president told business leaders in St Petersburg: "I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. 2:00 "In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours." He also threatened a nuclear strike on Ukraine for the first time in months, promising "catastrophic" consequences if Kyiv used a dirty bomb against Russian forces. "This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today's Ukraine," he said. "It could be their last mistake. We always respond and respond in kind. Therefore, our response will be very tough. "Ukraine deserves a better fate than being an instrument in the geopolitical struggle of those who strive for confrontation with the Russian Federation." On Saturday morning, Russia claimed to have captured a small village named Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, posted on Telegram saying that more than 200 Russian UAVs targeted the region on Friday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was now in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the UK and Lithuania to start joint weapons production. He urged Kyiv's partners to provide 0.25% of their GDP to finance the production of Ukraine's weapons.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Ukraine says Russia handed over at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Russia has repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing the unusual occurrence as a sign of Moscow's disorganisation in handling large swaps of wounded prisoners of war and military remains. Speaking to journalists on Friday Mr Zelenskyy disclosed that an Israeli citizen was among the deceased received by Ukraine. Officials have not yet disclosed the identities of the bodies. He condemned Russia's apparent disregard for its own troops, stating: "They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports." Mr Zelenskyy added that despite the clear evidence, the Russian side had insisted that all the dead were Ukrainians. Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region. The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and that the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead. Zelenskyy said he suspected Russia's plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the U.S. and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning. He said that because of this, Ukraine would be 'in a really difficult situation' of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul. Impact of Iran -Israel war on Ukraine Zelenskyy said Ukraine was against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, because of its military partnership with Russia, but stopped short of expressing explicit support for Israel's strikes. He repeated that the new war in the Middle East will affect Ukraine indirectly. 'Iran gave the Russians everything to kill us. They gave them martyrs, they gave them missiles, and they gave them licenses. The fact that their production capacities have now become weaker is (a) positive for us. But at certain points it may already be too late,' he said, also citing Russia's military cooperation with North Korea. Russia has modified Iran-made Shahed drones and has used them, often hundreds at a time, in barrages targeting Ukraine. Zelenskyy said 39 Russian companies were involved in the production of Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He said 21 of them are not under sanctions. 'And therefore it is absolutely incomprehensible why sanctions should not be imposed urgently,' he said. Russia attacked Ukraine with the missile in November, marking a serious escalation in the war and Russia's capabilities. Zelenskyy dispelled reports that Patriots air defense systems were destroyed in recent Russian drone and missile barrages. He also said Ukraine has started using domestically produced interceptors to shoot down Shahed drones and is seeking financing from Germany to ramp up the weapon's production. He added he sent signals to Western partners asking them to give up 0.25% of their GDP to support Ukraine's local defense industry. Zelenskyy said it's likely he would attend a NATO summit later this week, but that he would make a final decision on Monday. Though Zelenskyy did not meet Trump who had left early the Group of Seven summit in Canada last week, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the head of the president's office, Andriy Yermak, gave U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a list of weapons Ukraine is hoping to purchase. 'We will wait feedback,' Zelenskyy said, adding the package of weapons included Patriot systems. The weapons package would be among the topics Zelenskyy plans to discuss with Trump in their next meeting, he added, as well as the issue of sanctions. 'Frankly, it seems to me that we need to talk about a new breath in the diplomatic track,' he said. 'We need greater certainty and greater pressure from the world on Putin.'
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Ukraine ‘received at least 20 bodies of Russian soldiers in recent exchanges'
Ukraine's president said that Russia repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing it as a result of Moscow's disorganisation in carrying out large swaps of wounded POWs and remains of troops. Volodymyr Zelensky said that an Israeli citizen was among the dead Ukraine had received in recent exchanges. Advertisement 'They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,' he said. He said the Russian side insisted the dead were all Ukrainians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region. The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. Advertisement In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and that the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead. Mr Zelensky said he suspected Russia's plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the US and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian president Vladimir Putin believes he is winning. He said that because of this, Ukraine would be 'in a really difficult situation' of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul. Advertisement
