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Moscow: According to RT, which cited Kremlin official Vladimir Medinsky, Russia has returned the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian servicemen in the most recent exchange with Kiev. The dead, which were found in many front-line areas, represent an ongoing effort by the two countries to coordinate humanitarian efforts.

The transfer was first reported by the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, according to RT.

The bones were found in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine and the Kursk, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions of Russia. No specific identities were made public. During the exchange, Russia was given the remains of 27 of its troops.

Medinsky, Moscow’s lead negotiator in negotiations with Kiev, said on Telegram that the two sides had decided to start “urgent sanitary exchanges” with seriously injured POWs, according to RT. In order to highlight Russia’s dedication, he said, “Russia does not abandon its own people.”

The conversation came after talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Moscow has previously promised to return more than 6,000 Ukrainian dead, but Kiev was accused of postponing acceptance, according to RT. Russian Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin declared Moscow’s intention to enforce the deal despite logistical difficulties, referring to it as a “purely humanitarian action.”

According to RT, which cited the Russian Defense Ministry, a significant prisoner exchange deal between Moscow and Kiev last week resulted in the release of a second set of Russian POWs from Ukrainian custody, adding to the momentum from the Istanbul discussions.

The Defense Ministry posted a video of the released troops getting ready to board buses while wrapped in Russian flags, but it did not provide the precise number of personnel who were brought back, according to RT. The servicemen will be sent to Russian military facilities for rehabilitation after now getting medical and psychological support in Belarus.

The exchange was verified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who termed it “an important humanitarian act” and described it as “the first stage” of a swap involving “seriously wounded… soldiers.”
According to RT, both parties decided to swap hostages who were very sick, wounded, or under 25 at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul. The categories that were part of this phase were not made clear by the Russian Defense Ministry.

In a unilateral humanitarian gesture, Russia also said that the corpses of more than 6,000 Ukrainian troops will be returned. Ukrainian delegates did not show up at the exchange location on Saturday when Moscow tried to turn over 1,212 corpses, according to RT.