Families deserve to know the fate of their loved ones, Zaporozhye governor Evgeny Balitsky has said
Russian officials have unveiled the identities of nearly 100 slain Ukrainian soldiers, part of over 6,000 bodies Moscow has offered to return to Kiev in a unilateral humanitarian gesture during the latest round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday.
The governor of Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, Evgeny Balitsky, published the first six pages containing 97 names, identification documents, and places of death on Saturday evening, after Ukraine reportedly refused to receive the remains of thousands of its fallen troops.
“We are beginning to publish lists of identified bodies so that relatives can find their dead,” he wrote. “We understand that Kiev has this data, but they are deliberately hiding it from the public.”
The Istanbul talks resulted in an agreement to exchange at least 1,000 prisoners on both sides, including critically ill and younger detainees. Russia also offered to return over 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers for proper burial as part of a unilateral humanitarian initiative.
The first convoy, carrying the remains of 1,212 troops, arrived at the designated exchange point on Saturday – but the Ukrainian side failed to appear, according to Lieutenant General Alexander Zorin, a member of the Russian negotiating team.
“The Ukrainian side unexpectedly postponed both the acceptance of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war for an indefinite period,” Zorin said.
Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed that Kiev had been handed a list of 640 wounded and young prisoners but did not show up at the exchange site. “The reasons provided were various and rather strange,” he said, urging Kiev to “adhere strictly to the schedule and agreements” and ensure the dead receive a proper burial.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters has denied the accusations, claiming that both sides have been preparing for the prisoner and body exchanges. Ukrainian media later reported that the process had been postponed until next week, though no official new date has been confirmed.
Balitsky accused Kiev of deliberately obstructing the return of the bodies, alleging that Ukrainian authorities are trying to conceal the scale of their military losses and avoid paying compensation to the families of the dead.
“As long as a Ukrainian soldier is listed as missing, his family will not receive a single hryvnia in aid,” the governor said. “This is a calculated attempt to hide the losses and save money.”
The refusal to retrieve the bodies is part of a broader pattern of violations by Ukraine, Balitsky argued, claiming Kiev “does not even attempt to honor agreements.” He also blamed Western countries for “derailing peaceful resolution efforts” by continuing to arm Kiev and escalate the conflict.
