Russia hands Ukraine bodies of 1,000 soldiers

MOSCOW: Russia gave Ukraine the bodies of 1,000 soldiers on Thursday as part of an agreement reached at peace talks last month, Moscow’s top negotiator said on social media.

Two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

“Following the agreements reached in Istanbul, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today,” Russian negotiator and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Telegram.

Ukraine handed over 19 killed Russian soldiers, he added.

He posted photos showing people in white medical suits lifting white body bags from the back of refrigerated trucks.

Exchanges of captured soldiers and the repatriation of remains have taken place regularly throughout the conflict in some of the only successful diplomacy between the sides.

Despite pressure from US President Donald Trump, Russia has rejected calls for a ceasefire and the two sides appear no closer to agreeing an end to the three-year conflict.

At the talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable ultimatums and has questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow is not willing to make concessions.