Kyiv, June 11 (IANS) A total of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian servicemen killed in the conflict with Russia have returned home, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Wednesday.
The repatriation of the deceased was made possible with the help of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other agencies, said the statement.
The agency also expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for its support in facilitating the return of the bodies, Xinhua news agency reported.
The return is part of a deal made during the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey’s Istanbul on June 2. Under the agreement, the first stage of the prisoner swap was carried out on Monday.
Earlier on June 10, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia agreed to hand over the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, and had been waiting for the Ukrainian side for several days at the border.
Peskov said he hoped that the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers would also be transferred in the near future.
“There is no final understanding, contact is being made, numbers are being compared,” he said, noting that as soon as there is an understanding, Moscow hopes the exchange of dead bodies will take place.
The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed in a statement that “the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 was returned from the territory controlled by Kyiv”.
A similar number of prisoners of war from the Ukrainian army were also transferred, it added.
On Sunday, Russia had delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the border exchange point pursuant to the Istanbul accords, said Lt General Zorin.
Zorin, also a representative of the Russian negotiating group, had said that Ukraine has not made contact; therefore, the transfer of the bodies and the exchange of prisoners have not taken place yet.
Some foreign media representatives waiting at the agreed-upon place of exchange have checked some of the refrigerated trucks transporting the bodies.
Zorin said that trains with more bodies of Ukrainian servicemen will start moving towards the border, adding that Russia is awaiting Kyiv’s official confirmation for transferring Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies next week.
This occurred amid an ongoing spat over a prisoner swap between the two sides. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of postponing a scheduled prisoner exchange over the weekend, while Ukraine denied the accusation and urged Russia to stop playing “dirty games”.
–IANS
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