Zelenskyy: Russia returned bodies of its own soldiers in swap

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia handed over 21 bodies in a recent exchange—20 of them were Russian soldiers, and one a foreign mercenary.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of lying, saying the bodies were passed off as fallen Ukrainian troops. “This lie is documented; some of the bodies even had Russian passports,” he said, without specifying when or where the swap took place. The discovery was made during standard identification procedures, he added.

The swap was part of a broader exchange completed on June 19, following a deal reached in Istanbul. Ukraine received 6,057 bodies of its fallen soldiers, while Russia received 78.

Zelenskyy also announced the launch of the “Build with Ukraine” initiative to expand Kyiv’s defense partnerships. He said Ukraine will sign new agreements this summer to export its defense technologies and open joint production lines in allied countries.

He noted that $43 billion has already been allocated this year for Ukraine’s defense industry, and called on allied nations to commit 0.25% of their GDP to Ukraine’s security next year.

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