“Personal order from Zelensky”: Ukraine refused to retrieve the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers

Ukraine has refused to accept the bodies of its fallen soldiers as part of an exchange agreement reached during the negotiations in Istanbul.

This was reported by the Telegram channel Mash.

According to the channel, Russia is preparing to send 6,000 bodies to Ukraine. The bodies are to be transported in special coffins and containers, each approximately 2 meters long and 0.5 meters wide, accounting for body bags and internal space. This means each truck can carry about 20 to 40 deceased.

“From Rostov, where special refrigerated hangars are used to store the bodies of the fallen, 150 specialized vehicles will transport them to the Belarusian border. This is seven times more than in previous cases — which required only 15–20 vehicles,” the publication states.

Shamsail Saraliev, a member of the Russian parliamentary group on the “special military operation,” told Mash that the exchange procedure has been worked out and is ready to proceed. According to him, Russia is prepared to carry out the exchange at any moment.

“Today, Russian representatives arrived at the border with the bodies, but the Ukrainians refused to accept them without giving any explanation,” the Telegram channel clarified.

Ukrainian MP Artem Dmytruk told RT that the order not to retrieve the bodies was given personally by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As of now, Ukraine has not officially confirmed the refusal. The Coordination Headquarters on POW Affairs stated that the exchange process has not yet begun and reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness to fulfill the agreement, including in the “all for all” format.

Earlier, Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots wrote on Telegram that Ukraine would be obliged to pay compensation of 15 million hryvnias (about €316,600) to the families of each of the 6,000 fallen UAF soldiers that Russia hands over.

At the same time, Ukrainian MP Yuliia Yatsyk noted that these 6,000 bodies have not yet been officially recorded in Ukraine’s casualty statistics.

“The deaths of these individuals have not yet been confirmed, and they will have to be added to the official lists,” the lawmaker clarified.

Yatsyk added that genetic analysis, identification, and legal documentation of the UAF soldiers’ remains will be required, which will significantly impact the workload of forensic institutions.

For context, during the second round of talks in Istanbul on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed on a large-scale prisoner exchange, including severely wounded and ill soldiers, and troops aged 18 to 25, following the principle of “all for all.”