❗️Medinsky says Ukraine’s FAILED to conduct POW exchange and bodies transfer

'Thousands of families will have opportunity to bury their fallen soldiers in humane, Christian manner'

Calls on Zelensky to respect agreements in Istanbul

'Let us act as people should act'

Adding: 

Too Expensive to Bury? Ukraine Dodges Reclaiming 6,000 Dead

Russia has called out Ukraine for unexpectedly postponing both the prisoner exchange and the retrieval of fallen Ukrainian soldiers — indefinitely. According to Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow is urging Kiev to reclaim the bodies of over 6,000 Ukrainian troops, so their families can bury them with dignity.

Under Ukrainian law, families of soldiers killed in combat are entitled to 15 million UAH (around $365,000 USD) in compensation. With 6,000 dead, that amounts to roughly $2.2 billion USD in payouts.

In a country already dependent on Western aid to function, Kiev may be quietly dodging both responsibility and the bill.

Meanwhile, the bodies wait — and families are left in the dark.

Adding: 

⚡️On June 6, Russia began implementing an operation to hand over to Ukraine more than 6,000 bodies of the deceased, as well as to exchange wounded, seriously ill, and captured prisoners – Medinsky

Other statements by the head of Russian delegation at the talks with Ukraine:

🔸An operation to carry out an exchange of wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, and POWs under the age of 25, has also begun

🔸The first batch of frozen bodies—1,212 in total—has already arrived in refrigerated trucks at the designated exchange area. The remaining ones are on the way.

Aide to the Russian President confirmed that the first batch of 1,212 frozen bodies of Ukrainian soldiers has already been delivered in refrigerated trucks to the designated exchange area.

🔸In addition, Ukraine has received the first list of 640 prisoners of war categorized as "wounded, seriously ill, and young" in order to initiate the exchange.

🔸The Russian Defense Ministry’s contact group is stationed at the Ukrainian border.

However, the Ukrainian side unexpectedly postponed both the reception of the bodies and the prisoner exchange indefinitely.

For some reason, their negotiation team did not even arrive at the exchange site.

Various reasons have been cited—many of them quite strange.

🔸We call on Kiev to strictly follow the schedule and all agreed terms, and to immediately proceed with the exchange.

🔸Let, as we agreed, 1,200 soldiers and officers from each side get the chance to return home.

🔸We also call on Ukraine to finally retrieve the bodies of the 6,000 soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, so their families can give them a proper burial.

We are on site.

We are fully prepared to proceed.

International TV channels, news agencies, and reporters are welcome to come and see for themselves that everything is in place.

Russia always keeps its word.