KYIV: In one of the biggest repatriations since Russia’s invasion, Kyiv announced on Friday that it had received the bodies of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who had been killed in combat with Russian forces. Since the Kremlin mobilised its army in Ukraine in February 2022, one of the rare areas of collaboration between Moscow and Kyiv has been the exchange of prisoners and the return of their corpses.
Ahead of the war’s third anniversary, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, a Ukrainian governmental organisation, announced the largest repatriation in months, highlighting the enormous cost and severity of combat. In a social media post, the Coordination Headquarters stated that the bodies of 757 dead defenders had been returned to Ukraine.
It stated that 451 of the victims were returned from the “Donetsk direction,” most likely alluding to the conflict over Pokrovsk, a transportation and mining hub. Once home to over 60,000 people, the city has been decimated by months of Russian shelling and is currently the top military target for the Kremlin. The statement added that 34 bodies had been retrieved from Russian mortuaries when Kyiv launched a surprise attack into the western Kursk region of Russia in August. Since October, at least 500 Ukrainian bodies have been repatriated at least five times, including Friday.
Also Read:
Authorities in Saudi Arabia Warn of Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain Until Monday
Bitcoin and Hydrokken: The Illusion and the Reality
