Ukraine says received 1,003 bodies from Russia

KYIV - Kyiv said on Friday that it had received from Russia more than 1,000 remains of people that Moscow said were Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting the Kremlin's army.

The exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of killed soldiers is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"Today, repatriation activities took place. 1,003 bodies, which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine," Kyiv's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said in a statement on social media.

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky confirmed an exchange between Moscow and Kyiv had taken place, writing on Telegram that the Russian side had received the remains of 26 killed Russian soldiers.

Medinsky said the exchange was made possible as part of agreements struck between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul earlier this year.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since Russia invaded, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.