Vladimir Rogov, a pro-Kremlin activist in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, said Russia received the bodies of 43 soldiers. Russian lawmaker Shamsail Saraliyev confirmed the exchange and the figure to the RBC news website.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said it received 909 bodies, adding that the soldiers had died in combat in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
“Law enforcement investigators, together with expert institutions of the Interior Ministry, will establish the identity of the victims as soon as possible,” the Ukrainian agency said.
The discrepancy in exchange numbers reflected Ukraine’s “colossal losses” on the battlefield.
Friday’s exchange marks the seventh swap since last October involving at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers.
Despite the ongoing war, prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers’ remains remain among the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv.
