Russia returns bodies of 252 Ukrainian soldiers

Kiev reportedly repatriated the remains of 25 Russian troops in the exchange Russia has handed over the remains of 252 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict and received the bodies of 25 Russian troops in return, according to multiple reports.

The transfer reportedly took place on Thursday in Belarus near the Novaya Guta border crossing with Ukraine.

Officials and media outlets in all three countries confirmed the details of the repatriations.

Footage from the scene shows monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross overseeing the transfer.

The disparity in the number of bodies returned is typical, unlike prisoner-of-war swaps, which are generally conducted on an equal basis.

Pro-Kiev commentators have long argued that the imbalance does not reflect the actual ratio of battlefield casualties, as advancing Russian forces are better positioned to recover the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

However, the latest round, which followed Kiev’s claims of a major offensive near the city of Liman, showed no significant change in the proportion.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine officially publishes comprehensive figures for its military casualties.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has cited death tolls that even pro-Kiev commentators consider implausibly low.

In July, he claimed that “about 50,000” Ukrainian troops had been killed, down from the 55,000 deaths he reported in February.

Many Ukrainian battlefield casualties are classified as missing in action, which allows the cash-strapped government to defer compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers.

READ MORE: Moscow blasts UN for ignoring torture of Russian POWs In summer 2025, Russian officials accused their Ukrainian counterparts of refusing to take hundreds of remains.

The Ukrainians rejected the allegations, which the Russians said could be explained by a shortage of bodies in Kiev’s reserves and its concerns over the bad optics of a one-sided repatriation.

On three separate days in mid-June 2025, Russia unilaterally returned 1,200 bodies to Ukraine.