KYIV: Ukraine has received 1,200 bodies of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia, Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Saturday.

The prisoner exchange coordination committee said in a statement on Telegram that the return of the bodies was part of the agreements reached by Ukraine and Russia during their talks in Istanbul earlier this month. “We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.

“In accordance with the Russ­ian-Ukrainian agreements… another group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram. Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.

Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags. Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.

Zelensky fears drop in aid due to Israel-Iran escalation

Moscow’s defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Russia, Russia”, “glory to Russia” and “hooray”, some raising their fists in the air.

The exchange came as Russia repeatedly rejected ceasefire calls and intensified its offensive along the front line, and especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a “buffer zone” to protect its Kursk region, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.

Drop in aid

Ukraine said on Saturday it hoped the military escalation between Israel and Iran would not lead to a drop in aid to Kyiv, at a time when European support is stalling without US engagement.

In Kyiv it also sparked anxiety about future supplies of military aid, fearing Washington might relocate more resources to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel. “We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.” The Ukrainian leader warned that Europe’s support was already stalling without Washington’s engagement.

“Europe has not yet decided for itself what it will do with Ukraine if America is not there,” he said. The return to the White House of US President Donald Trump has upended the West’s provision of aid to Kyiv. It has left Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support.

Zelensky urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the war. Trump has sought rapprochement with Moscow and held three phone calls with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin so far this year.

He has stunned Nato allies with the stark change in policy from that of the previous US administration, which aborted almost all contacts with Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2025