Russia returns bodies of 261 fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"As a result of the repatriation process, the bodies of 261 people who were killed and who, according to the Russian side, are Ukrainian service members have been returned to Ukraine," the agency said.

Law enforcement investigators, together with experts from specialized institutions, will carry out all necessary procedures to identify the repatriated remains.

The Coordination Headquarters said the repatriation was made possible through joint efforts by representatives of the Coordination Headquarters, the Joint Center under the SBU, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing under Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service and other bodies within Ukraine's security and defense sector.

The Coordination Headquarters expressed its sincere gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for facilitating and supporting the repatriation process.

The agency also separately thanked personnel of the Joint Center for Civil-Military Cooperation Support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which transports the repatriated remains to specialized state institutions and organizes the transfer of the fallen to law enforcement agencies within the Interior Ministry system, forensic medical examination institutions within the Health Ministry system, and representatives of the Armed Forces' civil-military cooperation structures, which provide overall coordination.

On July 16, the Coordination Headquarters said that the remains of 501 people killed in the war had been returned to Ukraine as part of repatriation efforts. According to the Russian side, they may belong to Ukrainian service members.