Ukraine says received 1,200 bodies from Russia

Moscow said last week it would unilaterally hand to Ukraine the bodies of 6,000 killed soldiers in total, in what Kyiv said would be an "exchange".

Ukraine on Friday said it has received 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia as part of an agreement reached at peace talks in Istanbul.

Ukrainian soldiers unwrap the Ukrainian national flag over the coffin of a 21-year-old Ukrainian serviceman who was killed in the battle near the Zaporizhzhia direction, during the funeral ceremony in Kyiv on June 2, 2025.(AFP)

"The bodies of 1,200 deceased persons were returned to Ukraine," said Ukraine's headquarters for the treatment of POWs.

"According to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel."

Moscow said last week it would unilaterally hand to Ukraine the bodies of 6,000 killed soldiers in total, in what Kyiv said would be an "exchange".

The agreement had appeared in doubt earlier this week after Russia accused Ukraine of not coming to collect the first set of bodies and Kyiv said Moscow was playing a "dirty, political game".

Earlier this week, Russia said it handed over the bodies of 1,212 killed soldiers in the first stage of the arrangement.

The deals to hand over killed soldiers and exchange captured soldiers are the only agreements to have come out of two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul.

Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year invasion and demanded Ukraine cede even more territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace.