Vladimir Medinsky has accused Ukraine of indefinitely delaying the process of receiving bodies and conducting prisoner swaps. The claim was made in a post on his Telegram channel.
"Their negotiation team failed to show up at the exchange location without explanation. The reasons given are varied and highly questionable. We call on Kyiv to strictly adhere to the agreed schedule and immediately proceed with the exchange," Medinsky stated.
He noted that on June 6, Russia initiated the transfer of over 6,000 deceased individuals to Ukraine, along with plans to exchange wounded, severely ill, and captured soldiers. The first shipment, consisting of 1,212 frozen bodies of Ukrainian military personnel, had already reached the designated exchange zone. Additionally, Moscow provided Kyiv with a list of 640 POWs categorized as "wounded, seriously ill, and young soldiers" to facilitate the process.
Ukraine swiftly denied Russia’s allegations of disrupting the exchange, countering that Moscow acted unilaterally without coordination.
"Today’s claims by Russian officials are false and violate prior agreements," stated Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for Prisoner of War Affairs.
The agency clarified that while Ukraine had submitted its own exchange lists, Russia presented conflicting lists that deviated from the agreed framework. Kyiv has responded to this discrepancy and is now awaiting Moscow’s next move. Regarding the repatriation of remains, Ukraine confirmed an existing agreement with Russia but stressed that no specific date had been finalized, accusing Moscow of acting independently.
"Regrettably, instead of meaningful dialogue, we are once again seeing manipulative tactics and the exploitation of humanitarian issues for propaganda. We urge Russia to abandon these underhanded tactics and resume constructive cooperation," the statement concluded.