Ukraine receives bodies of more than 1,200 soldiers from Russia
Ukraine has accepted the bodies of 1,212 of its fallen soldiers from Russia after days of dispute, the agency dealing with prisoners of war in Kiev said on Wednesday.
The soldiers died in battles in Russia's Kursk region and the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson, the agency said.
Russia received 27 killed soldiers in return, Moscow's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. "Now they can be laid to rest in a Christian manner," he wrote on Telegram.
Russia has for days accused Ukraine of failing to accept the remains, and called on Kiev to comply with agreements reached between the warring parties in talks in Istanbul at the beginning of the month.
Russia transported the bodies ready for handover over the weekend in what it termed a "humanitarian action," while Ukraine said that no agreement on a handover date had been reached.
The Istanbul talks provided for the return of the remains of more than 6,000 fallen soldiers from Russia to Ukraine. It was not clear whether Russia would also receive the remains of its soldiers killed in Ukraine.
Work on implementing the Istanbul agreements will continue, Medinsky said, with an exchange of seriously wounded prisoners of war to take place this Thursday.
Ukraine and Russia had already exchanged an unspecified number of prisoners in recent days. In Istanbul, it was agreed that each side would release in stages 1,200 prisoners - those under 25, the seriously wounded and the seriously ill.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than three years. During the war, there have been repeated exchanges of prisoners and the return of bodies.
Russian drone strike kills two in Kharkiv
A Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least two people and injured dozens, local media reported early on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Independent, citing Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, said eight children were among the 54 people wounded. Terekhov also reported damage to residential buildings and a large fire.
According to the RBC-Ukraine news site, several commercial buildings were also damaged in the attack.
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