According to the representatives of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the bodies of 502 fallen soldiers of the Defense Forces were returned to Ukraine.
Points of attention
- 502 fallen defenders have been returned to Ukraine, with efforts led by various authorities and organizations.
- Ukraine is prepared for prisoner exchanges, including repatriation of the seriously wounded, the release of women, and return of Ukrainian citizens, but faces obstacles from the Russian side.
- Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and other relevant structures are handling the return of fallen soldiers' bodies, ensuring proper identification procedures.
- Despite Ukraine's readiness for exchanges, Russia's position remains a barrier, with official proposals going unanswered and propaganda tactics being used to disrupt the process.
- Efforts to exchange prisoners of war include the repatriation of the seriously injured, freeing women, implementing 'all for all' exchanges, and unconditionally releasing enslaved Ukrainian civilians.
What is known about the return of the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers
Among the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian heroes who managed to be returned home:
397 military personnel from the Donetsk region;
24 from the Luhansk direction;
64 from the Zaporozhye direction;
17 dead were returned from morgues on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The return of the bodies of soldiers was handled by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Central Directorate of Civil-Military Cooperation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the SBU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Commissioner of the VRU for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service and other structures of the Security Sector and defense of Ukraine.
The bodies of the fallen soldiers will first be handed over to law enforcement agencies and forensic experts. This procedure is necessary to identify the dead.
What is known about Ukraine's plans to exchange prisoners of war with the aggressor country
According to Andriy Yusov, the head of the Coordinating Staff working group, Ukraine is ready for exchanges, but the aggressor country ignores official requests.
This is not the first time that the Russians have used propaganda tools, including in the Ukrainian media space, to sow discord and discord among the families of Defenders and Defenders. This is not the first time such statements have been made by the Russian Federation, but, as before, they do not lead to real actions. Despite loud public words, the Russian side simply ignores the official mechanisms that could start the exchange process, Yusov noted.
Ukraine has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to conduct exchanges. In particular, it is about:
repatriation of the seriously injured and seriously ill;
emancipation of women;
return of prisoners of war in the format "all for all";
unconditional liberation of enslaved Ukrainian civilians.
Currently, it is Russia's position that is blocking the process of exchanging prisoners. Official proposals that Ukraine sends through diplomatic channels remain unanswered, and loud statements about "readiness to exchange" are exclusively an element of propaganda, Yusov emphasized.
