Bodies of 522 more fallen defenders returned to Ukraine

The bodies of another 522 fallen defenders have been returned to Ukraine. Now, experts must conduct examinations to identify all the fallen.

This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

According to the headquarters, the return of the bodies became possible during the next stage of repatriation. The Russian side claims that they belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.

The Coordination Headquarters, the Joint Center under the SBU, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service, and other security and defense sector structures worked on the return of the deceased.

In the near future, investigators, together with experts from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will conduct all necessary examinations and identify the deceased.

The Coordination Headquarters thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its assistance in carrying out the repatriation.

They also expressed gratitude to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who transport repatriated bodies to specialized state institutions and hand them over to law enforcement officers and forensic experts.