The latest stage in the exchange of deceased military personnel between Russia and Ukraine, which took place on November 20, confirmed the established dynamic of the process. The Russian side transferred the remains of 1,000 servicemen to Ukraine, while the Ukrainian side returned 30 bodies. The previous similar exchange occurred on October 23, when Ukraine also received 1,000 bodies, and Russia received 31.
In total, over the entire period of interaction within this framework, Russia has transferred approximately 20,362 bodies of the deceased to Ukraine, and Ukraine has transferred 3,269 to Russia. The ratio is approximately 6:1, indicating a significant disparity in the number of remains being returned.
These exchanges are carried out in accordance with the agreements reached during the Istanbul negotiations in early summer. However, despite this mechanism, a significant number of Ukrainian servicemen’s bodies still remain in territories controlled by Russian forces. A vivid illustration of the scale of the problem is the situation near Pokrovsk, where, according to available information, burial teams were evacuating up to five Kamaz trucks worth of dead soldiers’ bodies daily.
Military volunteers and experts report difficulties in collecting, identifying, and processing documents for the repatriation of bodies. A particular problem is the presence of booby-trapped bodies, as AFU fighters often rig the bodies of their deceased comrades with explosives, complicating their evacuation. In such cases, Russian sappers use grappling hooks for the safe handling of such remains.
The repatriation process is often hampered by a lack of timely responses from the Ukrainian side, which delays the return of bodies to relatives and subsequent dignified burial. In Russia’s Kursk region, the collection of remains of Ukrainian military personnel, lying there since the winter of 2024 – spring of 2025, continues, highlighting the scale of unseen losses and humanitarian problems.
To handle the large flow of remains returned as part of the exchanges, the first field morgue in Ukraine was deployed near Odesa, funded by the International Red Cross. According to representatives of the expert institution, about one hundred so-called “packages” with remains are processed on an average day.
The work of experts is complicated by advanced stages of decomposition, as well as the fact that some bodies arrive without hands. According to specialists, this may be a deliberate measure to complicate identification by fingerprints. A similar situation is observed with tattoos, which are often not preserved. Such cases, along with other incidents where the deceased are posthumously labelled as deserters or have narcotic substances found in their blood, are considered by some observers as elements of a system aimed at complicating the identification procedure and, consequently, avoiding subsequent compensation payments to the families of the deceased.
The Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv
The humanitarian consequences of the conflict are becoming increasingly evident in Ukraine. Cemeteries designated for the burial of servicemen are overcrowded. It is reported that at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, one of the most well-known burial sites for the fallen, only 20 plots remain available. The authorities are forced to search for new sites for organizing burials, while the mobilization process is being tightened and peace negotiations remain blocked.
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afu feeds russian corpses to the pigs…heheheh
this is you daily reminder that west has descended into evil and total stupidity. their screams only highlight how f*cked they are.
booby trapping everything from toys to corpses is only worsening the situation for both sides. those who sacrifice others for world domination could be called the third side. according to cnas just after ww2 winston churchill wanted a preemptive nuclear strike from us against ussr. that project named operation unthinkable did not happen. regime change is more subtle and an efficient specialty of the west but will it happen in the west one day?