Russia, Ukraine begin new exchange of fallen soldiers’ bodies

Russia and Ukraine have initiated another exchange of deceased military personnel.

Shamsail Saraliev, a deputy from the State Duma and member of the parliamentary coordination group on the military operation, told RBC that Russia handed over 1,000 bodies to Ukraine and received 38 in return, Caliber.Az reports.

The recent exchange follows a series of agreements reached earlier in 2025 during talks in Istanbul. 

Between May and July, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in multiple rounds to negotiate humanitarian arrangements, including the repatriation of deceased soldiers, the release of prisoners of war, and the transfer of severely wounded personnel.

Moscow and Kyiv held direct peace talks in Istanbul beginning on May 16, 2025, marking the first such negotiations in over three years and resulting in an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each and discuss humanitarian issues, including bodies of the dead.

During the June 2, 2025, round of talks in Istanbul, the delegations agreed on an all‑for‑all exchange of seriously wounded, seriously ill, and young prisoners, along with mechanisms for future exchanges of fallen soldiers’ remains.

The Istanbul negotiations in early June also included discussions about potential temporary ceasefires and lists of detainees, although they did not result in a lasting ceasefire or broader peace agreement at that time.

Following the earlier rounds, a third meeting took place on July 23, 2025, in Istanbul, where Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed on another round of prisoner exchanges involving at least 1,200 people from each side.

Agreements from the Istanbul talks provided a framework for ongoing humanitarian actions, including prisoner swaps and the repatriation of military dead.

This framework was applied in two major body exchanges in late 2025: on November 20, when Russia transferred 1,000 bodies, and Ukraine returned 38, and on December 19, when Russia sent another 1,003 bodies to Ukraine and received 26 in return.

By Jeyhun Aghazada