Ukraine accepted the bodies of 1,212 of its soldiers who fell in Russia after days of dispute, the agency dealing with prisoners of war in kyiv said on Wednesday.
The soldiers died in battles in the Russian Kursk region and in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson, the agency said.
Russia received 27 soldiers killed in return, said Moscow chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky. “Now they can be buried in a Christian way,” he wrote on Telegram.
Russia has accused Ukraine for days not to accept the remains and called on kyiv to comply with the agreements concluded between the parties at war in talks in Istanbul at the beginning of the month.
Russia transported bodies ready to transmit over the weekend in what it called a “humanitarian action”, while Ukraine said that no agreement on a transfer date had been reached.
Istanbul’s talks have planned to return from the remains of more than 6,000 soldiers who fell in Russia in Ukraine. It was not clear if Russia would also receive the remains of its soldiers killed in Ukraine.
The work on the implementation of the Istanbul agreements will continue, said Medinsky, with an exchange of seriously injured prisoners of war that take place this Thursday.
Ukraine and Russia had already exchanged an unpertified number of prisoners in recent days. In Istanbul, it was agreed that each party would be released in stages 1,200 prisoners – those under the age of 25, seriously injured and seriously sick.
Ukraine has defended himself against a Russian invasion for more than three years. During the war, there were repeated exchanges of prisoners and the return of the bodies.
Russian drone strike kills two Kharkiv
A Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least two people and injured dozens, local media reported on Wednesday.
The independent kyiv, citing the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said that eight children were among the 54 people injured. Terekhov has also reported damage to residential buildings and a large fire.
According to the RBC-Ukraine information site, several commercial buildings have also been damaged in the attack.
