Kyiv says Russia returned 1,000 bodies to Ukraine

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, tens of thousands of soldiers died, though both sides withhold casualty data

Ukraine on Thursday received 1,000 bodies from Russia that Moscow said were of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, a Kyiv government agency announced.

"Repatriation measures took place today. 1,000 bodies, which according to the Russian side belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine," Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Telegram.

Ukraine returned the bodies of 24 Russian soldiers in exchange, said another government body that provides information on Russian prisoners of war and missing Russian soldiers.

The repatriation of soldiers' bodies and the exchange of POWs are some of the only areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia amid the war.

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Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since Russia invaded in 2022, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.

According to Ukraine's "I Want to Find" project, the exchange of bodies was mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Despite a US-led push to end the conflict through diplomatic efforts and three rounds of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow, progress towards stopping the fighting appears to have stalled.

Last week, the Kremlin said that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were on "pause".