Ukraine Receives 1,000 Bodies of Fallen Soldiers from Russia
On August 19, 2025, Ukraine received 1,000 bodies allegedly belonging to its military personnel from Russia. Additionally, the repatriation includes the bodies of five deceased servicemen intended for exchange along with severely wounded and critically ill prisoners, reports 24brussels.
The Center for Strategic Communications has pointed out that Russia continues to delay and fails to uphold agreements regarding the immediate release of seriously injured and ill prisoners of war.
Simultaneously, Russian propaganda disseminates falsehoods claiming that Ukraine “refuses” to retrieve its defenders from captivity and to reclaim the bodies of the deceased. The intent behind such statements is to discredit the leadership of Ukraine and dissuade public morale, particularly among families and comrades of the imprisoned, deceased, and missing.
Ukraine remains committed to the “all for all” exchange policy, focusing on the return of all civilian captives, deported children, and the remains of all fallen soldiers.
According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Russia complicates the identification of the deceased Ukrainian defenders, returning bodies in severely mutilated conditions, often in different bags containing parts of a single body, and occasionally including the remains of Russian soldiers among them.
