Russia and Ukraine exchanged soldiers’ bodies for the first time
Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to exchange soldiers killed for the first time, with 320 bodies returned by both sides in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Affairs for the Recovery of Temporarily Occupied Territories last weekend confirmed that the exchange of dead soldiers’ bodies was carried out following an agreement agreed by the country with Russia. Each side agreed to return the bodies of 160 soldiers killed.
The body exchange took place at the Zaporizhzhia frontline on June 2 with the participation of the General Department of Intelligence, the Ministry of Defense, the Security Service, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies. other laws of Ukraine.
Russian forces carry a dead soldier’s body in Mariupol, southern Ukraine, on March 31. Image: Reuters.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners many times, but this is the first time the two countries have agreed to exchange the bodies of soldiers killed in battle after more than three months of fighting. After the withdrawal of Russian forces from northern Ukraine and the city of Kharkov, the Ukrainian military said it had collected many bodies of Russian soldiers and stored them in refrigerated carriages in many cities.
Russia and Ukraine have not released updated numbers of casualties on the battlefield. Russia said in late March that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 60-100 Ukrainian soldiers die in battle in the Donbass region every day. US intelligence in mid-April estimated Ukraine lost 5,500-11,000 troops
Russia has recently focused its offensive power mainly on the eastern and southern fronts of Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense said on June 3 that Russian forces were achieving “tactical success” in eastern Ukraine and could take full control of the Lugansk province in two weeks. However, Ukraine insists it is resisting fiercely and has re-control 50% of the city of Severodonetsk in the Lugansk Oblast.
Military developments in Ukraine after 100 days of fighting. Graphics: Washington Post.
Duc Trung (Follow NY Times, Bloomberg)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
