New exchange of soldiers’ bodies between Russia and Ukraine within the framework of the Istanbul agreements

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian negotiating team, announced that Moscow has handed over the bodies of 1,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev in line with the agreements reached during the Istanbul talks.

In return, Ukraine returned the bodies of 78 Russian soldiers to Russia.

“May these soldiers rest in peace on their homeland,” Medinsky said in a statement.

The exchange is part of the agreements of the Istanbul peace talks in June 2025, during which the two sides committed to returning the bodies of killed soldiers and exchanging prisoners of war.

This action is considered one of the largest exchanges of bodies since the beginning of Russia’s massive attacks on Ukraine in February 2022.