"Russia is ready to hand over the bodies of Ukrainian servicemen right now" - Russian Defense Ministry

Russia is ready to hand over the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers right now and is interested in carrying out this purely humanitarian operation, said Lieutenant General Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating team.

“We are ready to work right now, since the bodies are near the exchange site and we are interested in carrying out this purely humanitarian operation, on which an agreement was reached as a result of the second round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul,” Zorin was quoted as saying by the Russian Defense Ministry.

“It is not known why Ukraine is postponing the exchange of the bodies of soldiers and prisoners of war,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said.

Recall that according to the agreement reached in Istanbul, Russia has transferred the first part of the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site. However, according to Lieutenant General Alexander Zorin, Ukraine has not made contact today.