Russia hands over 1,000 bodies of soldiers to Ukraine in fresh exchange

Body swap between Ukraine and Russia. 19th August
Ukraine Government

Russia has recently handed over another 1,000 bodies of fallen servicemen to the Ukrainian side, while Ukraine, in turn, transferred 19 bodies to Russia.

The bodies of 1,000 Ukrainians have been returned from Russia as part of repatriation efforts according to  Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

In a report released in Tuesday, the agency said that law enforcement and forensic experts  will carry out examinations to identify the bodies.

Russian authorities say that the remains belong to Ukrainian servicemen killed in action in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kursk regions.

Among them are five soldiers who died in Russian captivity. They had been listed as "seriously wounded and seriously ill" and were slated for exchange under the Istanbul agreements.

Russian state news agency TASS reports that Ukraine also returned the remains of 19 Russian servicemembers in the swap. 

It is unclear if the swap is the same one referenced by U.S. President Donald Trump in a Fox news interview after the Alsaka summit last friday. 

Earlier in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin had stated that the Russian side already returned over 6,000 bodies of fallen servicemen to Ukraine and is ready to transfer about 3,000 more.

The most recent swap comes as peace talks are ramping up between Washington, Moscow, Kyiv and European leaders.

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