Key facts
- Ukraine repatriated the remains of 252 Ukrainian citizens from Russia on September 17, 2026.
- The bodies are identified as belonging to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.
- Law enforcement investigators will conduct necessary examinations to identify the bodies.
- Repatriation operations have accelerated since peace talks resumed in early 2025.
- The International Committee of the Red Cross assisted with the latest repatriation.
Ukraine repatriated the remains of 252 Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel, from Russia on September 17, 2026, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The headquarters cited Russian authorities for the identification of the bodies.
Law enforcement investigators and expert institutions of the Interior Ministry will conduct examinations to identify the repatriated remains. The operation involved a joint effort by several Ukrainian security and defense agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces, and the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights.
According to the Kyiv-based analytical platform VoxUkraine, Russia is likely to hand over more Ukrainian bodies than Ukraine hands over Russian bodies due to captured Ukrainian bodies during offensive operations. Repatriation efforts have intensified since peace talks resumed in early 2025, becoming one of the few areas of humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.
The Coordination Headquarters thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its assistance and also acknowledged the Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel involved in transporting the bodies. This repatriation follows a similar operation on August 13, when Ukraine received the bodies of 261 individuals identified by Russia as potentially belonging to Ukrainian service members.