According to a report by Russia Today (RT), on June 20 local time, Russian Presidential Assistant and chief negotiator of the Russia-Ukraine negotiation delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that if Ukraine agrees to accept them, Russia is prepared to hand over another 3,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.

This exchange was part of an agreement reached during the latest round of direct negotiations hosted by Turkey earlier this month. At that time, Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov stated that Ukraine would hand over an equal number of fallen Russian military personnel. So far, Russia has handed over a total of 6,060 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine has handed over 79 bodies of fallen Russian military personnel.

On June 7 local time, Ukraine refused to accept the first batch of bodies handed over by Russia, causing the transfer to be temporarily halted. Ukrainian officials criticized Russia for being too hasty, and the transfer was carried out the next day, completing more transfers in the past week.

Bags containing the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. Russian Ministry of Defense

Medinsky said on the 20th: "About 3,000 bodies are ready to be handed over, provided that Ukraine is willing to accept them. The Russian military is prepared to hand them over so their families can eventually confirm their identities."

He also responded to Ukraine's claim that Russian forces had mixed Russian soldier remains with those of Ukrainian soldiers. Medinsky said that this incident occurred during a body exchange in February, and the matter has been confirmed with Ukraine. Russia is aware of the situation and is investigating it.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian Interior Minister Klimenko accused Russia of "deliberately complicating the identification process," claiming that some of the bodies recently handed over by Russia were actually those of fallen Russian military personnel.

Medinsky refuted these claims, stating that Western media had exaggerated these allegations and compared such behavior to Nazi Germany's disinformation strategies. "I hope Ukraine's negotiating partners will rein in their Western propagandists to avoid embarrassment," he added.

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Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518190068901626395/

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