Illustrative image.
Kiev reportedly refused to receive the bodies of more than 500 slain Ukrainian troops from Russia on June 6, foiling an exchange agreed upon during the last round of direct talks in Turkey.
Russia agreed to hand over the dead bodies of around 6,000 Ukrainian troops as a part of the large-scale exchange. The first phase, which was foiled by Kiev, would have seen Russia handing over 503 bodies in exchange for the remains of 42 of its own soldiers.
According to Russian media, all necessary procedures were carried out to complete the first phase of the exchange. 150 trucks with bodies were sent from the region of Rostov-on-Don, where special refrigerated hangars are located, to the border with Belarus. The bodies were packed in bags, then in standard containers about two meters long. Each of the trucks contained from 20 to 40 such containers.
However, at the last moment, the Ukrainian side unexpectedly refused to accept the bodies without providing any explanation. Ukrainian officials didn’t even show up.
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky on June 4 said Moscow is ready to conduct a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
“We assume that there will probably be 1,200 people on each side, and this will again be the largest exchange of prisoners of war. We are ready to start, June 7, 8, 9. We, on our part, are completely ready for this,” Medinsky said while briefing President Vladimir Putin on talks held in the Turkish metropolis.
The number of bodies prepared for the first phase of the exchange reveals a large gap in casualties between the two sides, with Russia capturing around 12 times the number of bodies in possession of Ukraine.
This is not surprising, however. Last May, Ukraine received the bodies of 909 slain troops in exchange for the remains of just 34 Russian soldiers. In April, there was also an exchange of 909 Ukrainians for 41 Russian. Similar exchanges occurred in March, February and January, with Ukraine receiving a total of 2,423 bodies and handing over just 137.
Ukraine may have walked back from the last exchange in order to maintain its image in the media, as this apparently means more for some in Kiev than recovering the bodies of Ukrainian troops.
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