President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated that Russia has repatriated at least 20 of its dead soldiers following recent exchanges with Ukraine. He characterized this as a consequence of Moscow’s disorganization when conducting large-scale exchanges of wounded prisoners of war and the remains of deceased soldiers.
Zelensky also revealed that an Israeli citizen was among the deceased individuals Ukraine received during these recent exchanges.
“They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he said.
He added that the Russian side initially insisted that all the deceased were Ukrainian.
Journalists were presented with a Russian passport and identification card belonging to one of the 20 identified Russian casualties. The documents indicated the individual originated from the Moscow region.
These exchanges of deceased and wounded soldiers represent the sole concrete outcome of direct peace negotiations held in Istanbul.
In June, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers on a 6,000-for-6,000 basis during the second round of talks.
Ukraine expressed concern that this number was excessively high, fearing insufficient time for thorough forensic examinations and identity verification of the deceased.
Zelensky suggested that Russia’s intention may be to feign engagement in peace talks to placate the United States and avoid increased sanctions, while simultaneously continuing the war, which President Vladimir Putin believes Russia is winning.
He indicated that this situation could place Ukraine in “a really difficult situation” concerning the continuation of talks in Istanbul.
