Ukraine returns bodies of 212 fallen soldiers

The bodies of 212 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine as a result of repatriation measures.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports that on Telegram.

"It was possible to return the bodies of the fallen defenders to their native land, in particular from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv fronts, as well as from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," the message reads.

The repatriation of the bodies took place with the assistance of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, the Commissioner for Missing Persons in cooperation with the Joint Center of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Directorate of Civil-Military Cooperation of Ukraine's armed forces, other power structures, departments, and international organizations.

The transfer of bodies of fallen soldiers is carried out in accordance with the norms of the Geneva Conventions.

Ukraine's armed forces will transport the repatriated bodies and remains to designated state institutions. Representatives of law enforcement agencies and forensic medical experts will identify the victims.

After identification, the defenders' bodies will be handed over to their relatives for a dignified burial.

As Rubryka reported, in April, the bodies of 140 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine as a result of repatriation measures.

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It should be noted that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine and Russia have conducted a series of prisoner-of-war exchanges. Since August 2023, Moscow has frozen the exchange of prisoners with Ukraine.

However, on January 3, the largest exchange of prisoners since the beginning of the full-scale invasion took place between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine managed to bring home 230 defenders.

On January 24, Ukraine and Russia were supposed to hold the 50th exchange of prisoners, but it was interrupted due to the downing of the Il-76 plane near Belgorod.

The Russians said that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were allegedly on board the plane. But Ukraine did not confirm this.

According to Ukraine's intelligence, the disrupted exchange was supposed to be one of the largest during the war.

On February 8, another 100 defenders returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity; among those were border guards, national guardsmen, and soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces.