During the exchange of military casualties, Russia handed over the remains of its soldiers to Ukraine, including some foreign nationals. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with journalists.

“It has been documented that among the 20 bodies returned to us, not all are Ukrainian soldiers. For instance, one is an Israeli mercenary who fought on the Russian side. They claimed these were only Ukrainian military, but we have proof otherwise,” the President explained.

President Zelensky emphasized that such incidents are not isolated and indicate a deliberate strategy by Russia. In his view, the aim is to showcase the supposed number of Ukrainian casualties.

“We definitely want to bring back all our warriors and the bodies of our heroes. However, we do not want to return 'Russians' just for the sake of numbers,” he stated.

The President also mentioned that Ukraine has communicated this information to the Russian side and is ready to return the bodies of Russians, but there has been no constructive response from Russia.