Kanyshai Butun
16 May 2026•Update: 16 May 2026
Russia handed over the bodies of 528 fallen soldiers to Ukraine, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced Saturday.
According to the authorities, the bodies, which Russia said may belong to Ukrainian servicemen, were returned as part of repatriation measures.
Law enforcement investigators and forensic experts will work to identify the deceased, according to a statement posted on US social media company Facebook.
Earlier Friday, state news agency Tass reported, citing sources, that Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers, with Russia handing over 526 and receiving 41 bodies.
However, Russia has not yet made any official statement regarding the exchange.
In April, Russia said it handed over 1,000 bodies of fallen soldiers to Ukraine, while the Ukrainian side handed over 41 bodies. Ukraine confirmed it had received 1,000 bodies but did not specify how many bodies were transferred to Russia.
On Feb. 2, 2026, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that since June 2025, more than 12,000 remains had been handed over to Ukraine, while Russia had received more than 200 bodies of its servicemen.
The ministry also said that 17 rounds of prisoner-of-war and detainee exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, organized with mediation by the UAE in 2024 and 2025, had resulted in the release of more than 4,000 people.
