Ukraine receives bodies of 909 fallen defenders
Фото: Координаційний штаб з питань поводження з військовополоненими Photo: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Ukraine has held another event to repatriate the bodies of soldiers killed in the war. The remains of 909 Ukrainian soldiers were returned home.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported this.
Among those who were able to return, some soldiers died on:
- Kurakhove,
- Pokrovsk,
- Bakhmut,
- Vuhledar,
- Luhansk,
- Zaporizhzhia fronts.
- As well as those who were repatriated from morgues within the territory of Russia.
Law enforcement investigators, together with experts from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, should establish the identities of the deceased as soon as possible.
Ukraine and Russia regularly exchange the bodies of deceased service members. The exchange is conducted with forensic experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross and is one of the few diplomatic channels between the countries.
According to the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, Artur Dobroserdov, over the past four months, the Russian side has handed over twice as many bodies as during the entire period of the full-scale war.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War previously reported that during the entire period of the full-scale war, 75 repatriation events were successfully carried out, during which 7,017 bodies of deceased service members were returned to Ukraine.
On February 14, with the assistance of the Red Cross, the bodies of 757 deceased Ukrainian soldiers who fought on various fronts were returned to Ukraine.
Where to report missing service members?
The Office of the Commissioner for Missing Persons operates a hotline at 0 800 339 247. Reports of missing persons can also be made directly to the Commissioner by calling (099) 792 01 26.
On weekends, individuals can write to Viber and Telegram at (095) 896 04 21.
For reference:
According to the results of repatriation activities:
- At the end of April, the bodies of 140 dead were repatriated, most of whom had participated in the fighting in the Donetsk region.
- In June, the bodies of another 254 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine.
- On August 2, Ukraine returned another 250 bodies of fallen defenders.
- On October 18, Ukraine managed to return 501 bodies of fallen defenders.
- On November 8, Ukraine returned 563 bodies of Ukrainian military personnel.
- Another exchange of bodies of the dead took place on November 29. 502 fallen servicemen were returned to Ukraine.
- On January 24, the last exchange of bodies of the dead took place. The bodies of 757 fallen soldiers were returned to Ukraine.
In addition, during the entire period of the full-scale war, 61 prisoner exchanges were carried out, within the framework of which 4,131 citizens were returned home. This number includes Ukrainian service members and civilians.
As reported, on March 19, one of the largest prisoner exchanges took place between Ukraine and Russia. 175 of our soldiers were released. Another 22 defenders are returning home thanks to measures other than exchanges.
According to Zelensky, some of these individuals were held in captivity for over two years. For them and their families, today is a day that carries more significance than years of waiting. It is true happiness to see them return home, alive and free.
It should be noted that on January 15, another exchange of military and civilian prisoners of war took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. 24 Ukrainian service members returned home.
Many Ukrainians have been in Russian captivity for more than two and a half years. The defenders have acute, chronic diseases, the consequences of mine and explosive injuries, and serious injuries.
It is worth adding that through Qatar, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, received lists of Ukrainian service personnel who went missing, as well as letters from prisoners of war.
