Ukraine gets back over 500 war dead from Russia as questions mount over exchange
Pro-Kremlin media claims Russia returned the remains of 62 Ukrainian POWs allegedly aboard the Il-76 military transport plane that crashed in Belgorod in January.
Ukraine received the remains of 563 of its fallen service members from Russia in the latest exchange between the warring nations, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
“320 defenders from the Donetsk direction and 89 soldiers from the Zaporizhzhia direction have been repatriated, along with 154 bodies returned from morgues in Russia,” the statement on Telegram reads.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), and other security agencies facilitated the exchange. Ukraine returned 37 bodies of Russian service members.
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash claims 62 of the returned remains belonged to Ukrainian POWs allegedly aboard the Il-76 military transport aircraft that crashed in Russia’s Belgorod region on 24 January. Russia accused Ukraine of downing the aircraft, while Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied the allegation or the presence of Ukrainian prisoners aboard.
Official sources have not verified the Il-76 claims, and Ukrainian authorities have not commented on this aspect of the exchange.
Read more:
- Ukraine military on Russian IL-76: Hints but no clarity
- Zelenskyy calls for international probe into Russian military IL-76 crash
- UN Security Council session for Russian IL-76 crash set on 26 January
- Russia urgently convenes UN Security Council after IL-76 crash
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