Zelensky: Russia handed over 20 bodies of its own soldiers to Ukraine in latest exchange

He made the statement during a conversation with journalists, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Zelensky stated that Ukraine is actively engaged in ongoing exchanges and emphasized his request to expedite the process, despite its complexity. He noted that during recent repatriations, 20 of the bodies returned as supposed Ukrainian soldiers were, in fact, Russian fighters. Among them, he said, was an Israeli mercenary carrying Israeli documents who had fought for Russia.

He added that Russian passports were occasionally found alongside the bodies.

Zelensky stated that Russia had deliberately included the bodies of its own citizens among those returned to Ukraine, calling it a reflection of Moscow’s disregard for its soldiers and the war itself. He noted that this practice had already been documented, and that some of the bodies even bore Russian passports—evidence, he said, that the Russian side either could not or would not verify the identities of those it was returning.

He stressed that Ukraine is committed to bringing home all of its fallen soldiers, but made clear: “We will not accept Russian bodies simply to inflate the numbers.”

According to Zelensky, these actions appear to be intentional on Russia’s part.

“With this large-scale approach to the number of those killed, they’re trying to shift the narrative—so it doesn’t appear that many Russians have died. They fear acknowledging the true scale of their losses. Because if the time comes for Putin to announce another mobilization, Russian society will be afraid. But if they portray the ratio as one Russian to a hundred dead Ukrainians, it doesn’t seem so frightening. It’s about distorting the reality we live in—where far more are dying,” the President explained.

Zelensky also noted that Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, and the General Staff are actively working on the identification of bodies returned during exchanges.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Zelensky said that Russia has identified only 15–20% of the bodies of fallen soldiers in its possession. He stressed the importance of ensuring that Ukraine receives the remains of its own soldiers—not Russian fighters Moscow seeks to dispose of.

On June 2, during the second round of talks in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange all seriously ill prisoners of war and soldiers aged 18 to 25. The agreement also included a mutual repatriation of 6,000 fallen soldiers from each side.