Moscow announced on 19/8 that it had returned the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lugansk, and Kursk provinces to Kyiv.

"Under the Istanbul agreement, we handed over 1,000 bodies of soldiers to Ukraine, while they returned 19 bodies of Russian soldiers, the same number as a month ago," said Vladimir Medinsky, advisor to the Russian President and head of the Russian negotiating delegation.

Ukraine’s Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (KSHPPV) confirmed it had received 1,000 bodies of servicemen. Ukrainian forensic experts and law enforcement officials will conduct examinations for identification.

Bodies of soldiers returned on 19/8. Photo: RT

Bodies of soldiers returned on 19/8. Photo: RT

The exchange of prisoners of war and bodies of fallen soldiers is one of the few issues on which Russia and Ukraine have found common ground.

During direct talks in Turkey in early June, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of soldiers. The Ukrainian Defense Minister said at the time that the two sides would exchange bodies according to a "6,000 for 6,000" formula, while the Russian side said it was a unilateral repatriation agreement.

Russia returned over 6,000 bodies to Ukraine in the following weeks and received the remains of 79 soldiers. Russian President Vladimir Putin later declared that Moscow was ready to return another 3,000 bodies to Kyiv.

In a direct negotiation round on 23/7 in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine further agreed to exchange civilians and military personnel. Russia invited Ukraine to establish three online working groups to address political, military, and humanitarian issues. Medinsky said a decision on holding a 4th round of talks would only be made after the latest agreements were implemented.

Huyen Le (TASS, RT, Kyiv Independent)