Russia returns 1,000 bodies and remains claimed to be Ukrainian soldiers
Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that on February 26, 2026, as part of repatriation efforts, Ukraine received 1,000 bodies and remains of fallen soldiers, which, as early reports provided by Russia, may belong to Ukrainian service members.
“The repatriation measures were carried out as a result of the joint and coordinated work of representatives of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center at the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the Commissioner for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and other structures of Ukraine’s security and defense sector,” the statement reads.
Ukrainian investigators and forensic experts will now work to identify the repatriated bodies.
To provide background, on January 29, Ukraine also repatriated 1,000 bodies of the fallen, which the Russian side claimed belonged to Ukrainian service members.
