Russia and Ukraine exchange more than 1,000 soldiers' bodies

Russia's announcement comes as Ukraine's top negotiator met US peace envoys in Geneva.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers, with Ukraine receiving 1,000 bodies and returning 35 Russian soldiers' remains. The previous exchange took place on Jan. 29. Moscow and Kyiv have also repeatedly conducted prisoner exchanges, including with the mediation of the UAE and the US.

Ukraine has repatriated 1,000 bodies of those killed in the war, which may include Ukrainian defenders, officials said Thursday. Authorities and experts will now work to identify the deceased. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on social media that repatriation measures were carried out as part of which 1,000 bodies (remains) of the deceased were returned to Ukraine. According to the Russian side, these remains belong to Ukrainian defenders who were killed.

Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Feb. 26. The exchange comes as talks between Ukraine and the U.S. continue in Geneva, Switzerland, with preparations underway for a new round of trilateral negotiations with Russia that Washington hopes to broker in the coming weeks. "Law enforcement investigators, together with representatives of Ukrainian expert institutions, will take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the repatriated deceased," the Coordination Headquarters said.

Russia launched a large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine, deploying 420 drones and 39 missiles, including 11 ballistic missiles, just hours before U.S. and Ukrainian delegates met in Geneva to discuss peace efforts. The strikes targeted infrastructure and residential areas across eight Ukrainian regions, injuring dozens. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for his engagement in peace talks, although negotiations remain stalled over territorial disputes. Meanwhile, Russia returned the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and received 35 in exchange. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted several missiles, aided by Western military support.

Russia has handed over the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv, Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinsky said Thursday, with Moscow receiving the bodies of 35 of its soldiers in exchange. Medinsky, who has served as chief negotiator in peace talks, published an image on Telegram of workers in white suits lifting a body bag from the back of a refrigerated truck. He did not say when and where the exchange took place. There was no immediate confirmation of the body swap from Ukrainian authorities. Russia and Ukraine have returned the bodies of thousands of their soldiers since President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion more than four years ago. The latest exchange comes after Ukrainian, Russian and American officials met in Switzerland last week as part of ongoing negotiations to end the war. While many of the recent meetings between the two warring countries have ended with them agreeing to prisoner and body exchanges, neither side appears ready to sign a peace deal. Thursday's exchange was the second carried out so far this year.