Ukraine recovers bodies of 528 fallen servicemembers from Russia

Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 528 fallen individuals who, according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemembers, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on 16 May.

Ukraine regularly conducts exchanges and repatriation operations with Russia to recover the bodies of fallen soldiers and civilians from occupied territories and frontline areas.

The headquarters said investigators and forensic experts would now carry out all necessary procedures to identify the returned bodies. 

The repatriation effort involved the Coordination Headquarters, the Joint Center under the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Interior Ministry, the office of Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, the secretariat for missing persons under special circumstances, the State Emergency Service, and other security and defense agencies.

The International Committee of the Red Cross also assisted with the operation.

Personnel from the Armed Forces units responsible for civil-military cooperation and transportation logistics were involved in transferring the repatriated bodies to specialized state institutions for forensic examination and identification.