Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 254 soldiers who died fighting against Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on June 14.
The Geneva Conventions dictate that people who lost their lives during war are entitled to a dignified burial. Over 2,400 fallen soldiers have been repatriated to Ukraine in the last two years.
According to the headquarters, the bodies of the 221 fallen soldiers were retrieved from Donetsk Oblast, 25 from Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and four from Luhansk Oblast. Another four bodies were brought back from morgues in Russia.
“After identification, the bodies of our defenders will be handed over to their families for a dignified burial,” the headquarters wrote in a post on Telegram.
The effort to retrieve the fallen soldiers was conducted in collaboration with several government and military agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Interior Ministry, the State Emergency Service, and the Armed Forces.
In a previous transfer on May 31, the headquarters reported that the bodies of 212 fallen Ukrainian soldiers had been returned for burial.
In late February, Kyiv released information about the total number of Ukrainian soldiers killed during the full-scale invasion, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the number was around 31,000.
Elsa Court
(Updated: )
