Peskov Declares That Bodies of Ukrainian Soldiers Have Been at the Border for Several Days

Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russian representatives have been present at the Russia-Ukraine border for several days with the purpose of transferring the bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, according to Sputnik.by.

He explained that there is currently no definitive understanding of how many bodies of Russian servicemen might be handed over by Ukraine. Efforts are ongoing to reconcile the figures.

"We are maintaining contact. The numbers are being compiled. Once we have a clear picture, we hope that the exchange will take place," Peskov said.

As previously reported by Russia's Presidential Assistant Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow began implementing an operation on June 6 to transfer bodies to Ukraine, as well as to exchange wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war.

On June 7, the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian military personnel was transported in refrigerated vehicles to the designated exchange site. All of these remains were identified as members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Additionally, the Ukrainian side was provided with a list of 640 prisoners of war to facilitate the exchange.

However, the Ukrainian side failed to appear at the scheduled exchange location, despite the date being announced in advance. Consequently, the operation to transfer the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers and to conduct the prisoner swap did not take place.

Russia has announced its intention to repatriate over six thousand bodies discovered in the conflict zone. On June 8, three specialized repatriation trains departed, each carrying approximately 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian military personnel.