Moscow ready to repatriate more remains of Ukrainian troops
Russia is ready to hand over more remains of fallen troops to Ukraine, in addition to making good on its earlier promise to send some 6,000 bodies to Kiev's military, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
During talks in Istanbul in early June, Russia unilaterally decided to repatriate the bodies of 6,060 slain Ukrainian troops as a humanitarian gesture. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the final batch of remains had been handed over to Kiev, and that Moscow had 'fulfilled the agreements' reached during the talks in Türkiye.
However, the ministry made it clear that it presently holds some 2,000 more remains. 'At this stage, we are ready to hand over another 2,239 bodies of the deceased servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Ukrainian side,' a statement released on Monday claimed.
Moscow transferred 1,248 bodies in an exchange on Monday during which it received from Ukraine the remains of 51 slain Russian servicemen, it said.
Russia has this received some 76 bodies from Ukraine, having repatriated some 6,000 to Kiev.
Russia initially tried to return the remains over the previous weekend, but Ukraine's representatives failed to show up at the exchange point on the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Kiev later claimed that it had not agreed on the date of the transfer and accused Moscow of 'using humanitarian issues for information purposes.'
At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branded Ukraine's failure to receive the bodies of its fallen soldiers 'genocide against its own people.' The deliberate inaction of Vladimir Zelensky's government was proof that it 'does not need its people; neither dead nor alive,' she argued.
Kiev eventually began to accept the bodies from Moscow on Wednesday, with several transfers taking place since then.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
World on the brink of new nuclear arms race
The world risks plunging into a 'new dangerous arms race' as most nuclear powers seek to modernize and expand their arsenals, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has warned in its annual review. The pace of disarmament is slowing as nuclear-armed states launch 'intensive' arsenal modernization programs, the research center said in a paper published on Monday. Russia and the US, which together possess around 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world, are set to see the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control treaty – the New START – expire in February 2026, SIPRI noted. The agreement limits the number of simultaneously deployed strategic nuclear warheads. Moscow suspended its participation in the treaty in 2023, citing the impracticality of the inspection regime due to deep Western involvement in the Ukraine conflict. However, it maintained that it remained open to dialogue on the issue if the arsenals of Washington's NATO allies were also considered. Washington, meanwhile, insists on including China in any new agreement. According to SIPRI, China possesses the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world and could rival 'either Russia or the USA' in the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles by the end of the decade. The UK and France are also modernizing their nuclear forces, focusing on nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, the report said. Paris additionally aims to develop a new ballistic missile warhead. 'The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the Cold War, is coming to an end,' said Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Program. 'We see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric, and the abandonment of arms control agreements.' The research institute also listed Israel among the nations 'believed to be modernizing its nuclear arsenal.' While Israel does not officially acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons, SIPRI pointed to tests of new missile propulsion systems and alleged upgrades at the plutonium production reactor site in Dimona. West Jerusalem could have up to 90 nuclear warheads at its disposal, the report stated. The findings come as Israel conducts air raids against Iranian nuclear and military facilities, claiming Tehran is nearing the creation of a nuclear bomb. Iran, which maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, was not mentioned in the SIPRI report.
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russia should be in G8
US President Donald Trump has called Russia's removal from the group of major Western economies (G8) a mistake, arguing that the country's presence could have helped prevent the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Russia joined the group originally known as the G7 in 1997. It includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and also the EU as a 'non-enumerated member.' Moscow's membership was suspended in 2014 following Crimea's reunification with Russia, upon which the G8 reverted to the G7. Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia via a referendum in the aftermath of a Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. Trump made the remarks on Monday at the opening of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Canada, recalling that Russia had been part of the group before. 'The G7 used to be the G8,' he said at his first meeting of the summit with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "[Former US President] Barack Obama and a person named [former Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau didn't want to have Russia in.' 'And I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn't have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn't have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,' he argued. Trump repeatedly criticized Russia's exclusion and floated the idea of bringing Moscow back during his first term, though the proposal was rejected by other members. In February, Trump once again said he would 'love' to see Russia back in the group. The Kremlin responded by saying the G7 has 'lost its relevance' as it no longer reflects current global economic dynamics. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed to the G20 as a more representative format, noting it includes fast-growing economies like China, India, and Brazil. 'The G20 better reflects the economic locomotives of the world,' he said. Trump, who has been calling for a settlement to the Ukraine conflict, said at the G7 summit: 'You spend so much time talking about Russia, and [Russian President Vladimir Putin is] no longer at the table,' which he said 'makes life more complicated.'
Russia Today
7 hours ago
- Russia Today
Moscow ready to repatriate more remains of Ukrainian troops
Russia is ready to hand over more remains of fallen troops to Ukraine, in addition to making good on its earlier promise to send some 6,000 bodies to Kiev's military, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. During talks in Istanbul in early June, Russia unilaterally decided to repatriate the bodies of 6,060 slain Ukrainian troops as a humanitarian gesture. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the final batch of remains had been handed over to Kiev, and that Moscow had 'fulfilled the agreements' reached during the talks in Türkiye. However, the ministry made it clear that it presently holds some 2,000 more remains. 'At this stage, we are ready to hand over another 2,239 bodies of the deceased servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Ukrainian side,' a statement released on Monday claimed. Moscow transferred 1,248 bodies in an exchange on Monday during which it received from Ukraine the remains of 51 slain Russian servicemen, it said. Russia has this received some 76 bodies from Ukraine, having repatriated some 6,000 to Kiev. Russia initially tried to return the remains over the previous weekend, but Ukraine's representatives failed to show up at the exchange point on the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Kiev later claimed that it had not agreed on the date of the transfer and accused Moscow of 'using humanitarian issues for information purposes.' At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branded Ukraine's failure to receive the bodies of its fallen soldiers 'genocide against its own people.' The deliberate inaction of Vladimir Zelensky's government was proof that it 'does not need its people; neither dead nor alive,' she argued. Kiev eventually began to accept the bodies from Moscow on Wednesday, with several transfers taking place since then.
