Russia and Ukraine swap more bodies of war dead

ISTANBUL

Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday said they swapped more bodies of their fallen soldiers as part of deals reached during peace talks in Istanbul.

“Today, we handed over 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to the Ukrainian side. They gave us 19,” Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia’s delegation during the three rounds of talks facilitated by Türkiye, said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed receiving the bodies of 1,000 of its servicemen, expressing gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for assisting in the swap.

In its statement, the department claimed that five of the bodies returned belonged to Ukrainian servicemen who were on the list of “seriously wounded or seriously ill” prisoners to be exchanged as part of the second round of talks in Istanbul. Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the claim.

Moscow and Kyiv conducted three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul – on May 16, June 2, and July 23 – which produced major prisoner swaps and draft memorandums outlining positions of both sides for a potential peace deal.

Peace efforts reached an advanced stage after last week's meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and then a follow-up between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington on Monday. Major sticking points of the peace talks are said to be potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine.