Kyiv repatriates 51 bodies of killed service members

Ukraine has returned bodies of 51 more service members killed over the course of the full-scale invasion launched by Russia, a Ukrainian ministry reports.

“The bodies of service members who sacrificed their lives for Ukraine have been repatriated. Bodies of 51 defenders have successfully returned home,” the statement reads.

It is noted that the repatriation process is conducted in line with the Geneva Convention.

On 11 June, the Russian Defence Ministry reported that 94 prisoners of war had been released by Ukraine through negotiations. Senior Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak then said that 95 service members had returned to Ukraine.

“The list includes Ukrainian army fighters, National Guard members, and border officers. There are 93 privates and sergeants as well as two officers among them. In particular, prisoners from Mariupol, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Zmiiny Island, the Bakhmut area, as well as Azovstal [Steel Works] defenders are coming home to their families,” Yermak wrote.