Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,200 citizens, soldiers under Istanbul deal with Russia
Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers and citizens as part of an agreement with Russia in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War (POWs) announced on June 13.
The repatriation comes after Ukraine brought back the bodies of 1,212 fallen service members earlier this week, with Moscow voicing readiness to release the remains of some 6,000 Ukrainians total during recent peace talks in Istanbul.
The headquarters coordinated the operation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ombudsman's Office, the military, the Interior Ministry, and other state and defense bodies. The International Committee of the Red Cross has also provided assistance.
It is not immediately clear whether Ukraine released the bodies of Russian soldiers in return. During the previous exchange on June 11, Moscow claimed it had repatriated the bodies of 27 Russian service members.
At the Istanbul meeting on June 2, Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on a new exchange of POWs but failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The talks led to the most extensive prisoner swap in late May, involving 1,000 captives on each side. The exchanges continued this week, focusing on severely ill and wounded soldiers.
Russia accused Ukraine on June 7 of failing to uphold a proposed prisoner exchange, a charge Kyiv denied. Russian media published footage showing refrigerated containers allegedly holding the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, suggesting Kyiv had rejected their return.
POW Coordination Headquarters deputy head Andrii Yusov told Ukrainian Pravda that the footage had been filmed inside Russia and not at a designated exchange site.
Kyiv has repeatedly urged Moscow to adopt an "all-for-all" prisoner exchange formula. While over 5,000 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity since March 2022, Russia continues to resist a comprehensive swap.
Read also: Ukraine, Russia carry out another exchange of POWs under Istanbul deal
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday and Tehran's vows of reprisals have brought the two Middle East adversaries closer to an all-out war, which also threatens to draw in the United States, at least to some degree. So how do the militaries of Iran and Israel stack up against each other? Iran boasts a large standing force but also relies on proxies and undercover operations that have been severely disabled in recent months by U.S. and Israeli actions. Israel, meanwhile, relies on both subterfuge and robust regular ground and air forces that are apparently unmatched in the region. Though roughly equal in the number of troops, the two militaries bring strikingly different tactics and firepower. On paper, Iran would seem to have an advantage in numbers, with 88 million people and a land area of 1.6 million square kilometers (618,000 square miles) compared to Israel's 9 million people and 22,000 square kilometers (8,500). Militarily however, those numbers mean little. Iran's troops are divided between the regular armed forces, generally commissioned with guarding Iran's borders and carrying out more conventional military tasks, and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, including the elite Quds Force, the strategic missile command and the cyberforce. The regular forces command the bulk of the troops — around 600,000 men — and standard equipment, while the Revolutionary Guard has about 200,000 personnel split between various divisions. Along with Iran's proxies, its conventional forces are believed to have been heavily degraded by Israeli and U.S. military operations over the past year. Iran's military equipment is a hodge-podge, including some provided by the Soviet Union and others by the U.S. prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, along with more recent Russian additions. With an estimated 350 antiquated planes in its air force, it lags far behind Israel in both quantity and quality. Iran, however, does have the ability to produce a wide range of UAV's and similar equipment, typified by the Shahed attack drones it has sold to Russia in large numbers for use in the war in Ukraine. The security of its top commanders has been a recurring problem from Iran, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami and Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponizing them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest U.S. and European technology as well as a robust domestic defense industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of U.S. help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defense was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defenses. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable U.S. support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the U.S. assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region — as well as thousands of troops. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran,' warning Iran not to target U.S. forces in retaliation. In recent days, the U.S. began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defense systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also U.S. bases in the region, with one official vowing to effectively drive the U.S. from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Russian soldier kills, eats comrade in twisted attempt to survive Ukraine war: report
He bit more than the bullet. A Russian soldier on the frontlines in Ukraine murdered his comrade and ate the corpse to survive the grim wartime conditions — only to end up dying anyway, Kyiv's military intelligence reported. A call between two Russian soldiers who shared the jaw-dropping story of the cannibalistic 'Brelok', who killed his countryman 'Foma', was allegedly intercepted by Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, according to the Kyiv Post. 'F–king hell… Brelok f–king ate him, f–k me… nobody went anywhere. Brelok took him out and then ate him for f–king two weeks,' the first caller said. A Russian soldier reportedly killed and ate his comrade in order to survive the harsh frontline conditions in Ukraine. 'No f–king way… Holy sh-t… F—k my bald skull. Was Brelok really found as a 200?' the other person replied, using Soviet era slang for a soldier found killed in action. 'Yeah, they say he was a 200. He ate his comrade. So yeah… something to think about. I was shocked myself,' the caller concluded. The ghoulish cannibal was found dead, according to the report. Russia has recruited hardened criminals — including murderers and convicted cannibals — to bolster its ranks during the country's three-year invasion of Ukraine. Denis Gorin, a cannibal from Sakhalin, who killed four people and was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2012, ate part of the body of one of his victims, Politico reported, citing Radio Liberty. Russia recently launched a deadly attack in Kyiv, killing 15 Ukrainians with Iranian-made vehicles. AFP via Getty Images Another criminal, Nikolay Ogolobiak — a Satanist convicted of killing two young women and cooking their organs in 2008 — was also sent to fight for Mother Russia back in 2023, according to that report. Convict Dmitry Malyshev, who was jailed for killing three men and pan-frying one of their hearts, was also sent to the frontlines, the Daily Mail reported. That deranged madman infamously took a selfie with freed murderer-rapist Alexander Maslennikov, who grinned in fatigues before being sent to the frontlines in 2024, the Daily Beast reported. Russia strongman Vladimir Putin continues to pound Ukraine — with Iranian-made drones killing 15 Ukrainians in Kyiv earlier this week.
Chicago Tribune
8 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Putin says Russia has shared peace proposals with Israel and Iran
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Vladimir Putin said Friday he has secured Israel's pledge to safeguard Russian personnel at Iran's Russia-built nuclear power plant and that he has reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war. Answering questions on a variety of issues at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin also warned Ukraine that it could lose more territory if it keeps rejecting Russia's conditions for peace. Putin said Russia has proposed 'some ideas' for a possible settlement between Iran and Israel that are currently being discussed. He said Moscow asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the security of Russian personnel who are working to construct two more reactors at the nuclear power plant in Iran's port of Bushehr and that he also raised the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed with that, and President Trump has promised to support our legitimate demands,' Putin said. But he strongly rejected allegations that Moscow has failed to back its ally, Tehran, saying the Kremlin has maintained good ties with both Iran and Israel. He noted that Israel is home to nearly 2 million people from Russia and other former Soviet nations, 'a factor that we always have taken into account.' At the same time, Putin said, Russia has always met its obligations to Iran, adding that Moscow has firmly backed Tehran's right for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He voiced concern about the spiraling conflict, saying we 'are strongly worried about what's going on around the Iranian nuclear facilities and possible consequences.' Asked about Moscow's goals in Ukraine, Putin said the Russian military is moving to extend a buffer zone in Ukraine's Sumy region following a Ukrainian incursion last year into Russia's neighboring Kursk region. 'We have to create a security zone along the border,' Putin said, adding that the Russian troops have forged about 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) deep into the Sumy region and are approaching its capital of the same name, a city of about 270,000 people. 'They are creating a threat to us, constantly shelling the areas along the border,' he added. 'We don't have a goal to capture Sumy, but I don't exclude it in principle.' Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that Russians and Ukrainians are 'one people,' declaring that in 'that sense, all of Ukraine is ours.' But he also said Russia is ready to recognize Ukrainian sovereignty while emphasizing that Kyiv must accept the 'realities' of Moscow's territorial gains and abandon its bid to join NATO as part of possible deal. 'We aren't seeking Ukraine's surrender, we want them to recognize the realities on the ground,' he said, adding that Moscow has repeatedly warned Ukraine that it would better make a deal. 'The logic of military action could only exacerbate your situation, and you will have to conduct talks from different positions that will be worse for you,' Putin said, addressing Ukraine. 'There is an old rule: Wherever a Russian soldier puts his foot, that belongs to us.' Asked by the session's moderator whether he is concerned by allegations that Ukrainian authorities could order the use of a 'dirty bomb' of radioactive material against Russia, Putin said such an action would be 'their last mistake' that would trigger a 'mirror' response from Russia in line with its nuclear doctrine. 'Our response would be very tough and, most likely, catastrophic' for both the government and the country, he said. 'I hope it will never come to that.' Putin added that while Russia doesn't have information that Ukraine could mount such an attack, 'we assume that some people may develop such ideas in their sick imagination.' Putin hailed Russia's economic outlook, saying it has managed to curb inflation and ease its reliance on energy exports. His optimistic account contrasted with somber statements by some members of his government who warned at the same conference that Russia could face a recession. Economic Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said Thursday the country is 'on the brink of going into a recession.' Putin mentioned the recession warnings, but emphasized that 'it mustn't be allowed.' He pointed out that manufacturing industries have posted steady growth, allowing the country to reduce its reliance on oil and gas exports. 'The perception of Russian economy as based on raw materials and dependent on hydrocarbons exports have clearly become outdated,' Putin said, adding that the economy grew by 1.5% in the first four months of 2025 and inflation has dropped from double digits to 9.6%. Putin has used the annual forum to highlight Russia's economic prowess and encourage foreign investment, but Western executives have shunned it after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The economy, hit with a slew of Western sanctions, has so far outperformed predictions. High defense spending has propelled growth and kept unemployment low despite fueling inflation. Large recruiting bonuses for military enlistees and death benefits for those killed in Ukraine also have put more income into the country's poorer regions. But over the long term, inflation and a lack of foreign investments pose threats to the economy. Economists have warned of mounting pressure on the economy and the likelihood it would stagnate due to lack of investment in sectors other than the military.
