Russia and Ukraine are returning the bodies of their soldiers. It's a grim snapshot of battlefield loss

Briar Stewart · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

In a societal media radical dedicated to uncovering Russian soldiers missing successful action, the dozens of posts made each time typically contained names and pictures, on with pleas from hopeless mothers, wives and sisters looking for their loved ones. 

But connected Wednesday, immoderate radical members were voicing their vexation and anger. Moscow announced it had returned the bodies of much than 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers, and successful crook received the remains of 27 Russian soldiers.  

"How are they getting their fighters, and we can't ours?" said 1 woman.

Another radical subordinate said that her husband, who is presently listed arsenic missing, told her during 1 of their past conversations that the fields were "covered with corpses and nary 1 takes them away."

A 3rd pistillate replied, "Officials lone speech pretty, but successful world it is the opposite."

As portion of a constricted woody reached successful Istanbul connected June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed to speech prisoners of war, including the severely wounded and those nether the property of 25. They besides agreed to repatriate up to 6,000 bodies each, a grim snapshot of the standard of battlefield losses that some sides seldom address.

Neither broadside has commented connected wherefore the numbers of remains repatriated connected Wednesday appear so lopsided, with Moscow receiving conscionable 27 bodies.

Repatriating remains

As Russia appears acceptable to ramp up a summertime offensive, assorted groups person tried to estimation the fig of soldiers killed and wounded connected each broadside during much than years of war. 

The fig of Russian soldiers killed and injured is "extraordinary," wrote the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in a study from earlier this month.

It estimated that this summer, Russia volition deed its 1 millionth casualty — which includes some deaths and injuries — with arsenic galore 250,000 soldiers killed. The past clip Russian officials publically spoke astir the country's fatalities was September 2022, erstwhile they said conscionable nether 6,000 had died successful the fighting.

CSIS estimated the fig of Ukrainian fatalities to beryllium between 60,000 and 100,000, with much than 300,000 soldiers injured. 

In December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 43,000 had been killed. He had revealed the accusation successful an effort to correct U.S. President Donald Trump, who had posted online that Ukraine had "lost" hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Tens of thousands missing 

Kyiv says much than 70,000 Ukrainians person been registered missing since 2022. The bulk are from the military, but the fig besides includes civilians.

Another 12,000 person been removed from the database aft being identified among the dormant oregon being freed successful exchanges.

On Thursday, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War said that it has received much than 100,000 requests from Russian citizens, looking for relatives who had gone missing portion serving successful the military. 

Thousands of bodies had already been repatriated by some sides earlier Wednesday's exchange, successful arrangements wherever numbers are often not publically announced. 

Russia accused Ukraine of trying to hold the astir caller repatriations. Over the weekend, authorities media showed a enactment of refrigerated trucks it said were carrying the Ukrainian bodies and were posted near the borderline with Ukraine, acceptable to beryllium handed over. In response, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of manipulating the facts, saying a day for the speech had not yet been agreed upon erstwhile the trucks arrived. 

Prisoner exchanges

Russian officials said the radical it returned included soldiers who were killed successful the Ukrainian metropolis of Donetsk, wherever Russia's subject continues to advance, and besides from Kursk, which Russia has taken backmost aft the astonishment Ukrainian violative past summer. 

On Thursday, as both sides published videos of recently released prisoners of warfare calling their household members to accidental they had been freed, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with subject members and veterans who person served successful what Russia inactive calls its peculiar subject operation.

"Let's retrieve those guys who are present connected the enactment of combat contact, connected the front," said Putin, before helium led a radical assembled successful beforehand of him successful a cheer, wherever they shouted "hoorah" three times. 

In caller days, Russia has stepped up its attacks connected Ukrainian cities, launching a grounds fig of drones, portion its subject continues to effort and property guardant successful the eastbound and successful the north. 

The First Deputy of the Defence Committee for Russia's authorities Duma said the subject is trying to make a 100-kilometre buffer portion successful Ukraine's Sumy region. 

More evacuations

According to unfastened root maps created by pro-Ukrainian groups,Russia has taken much than 190 quadrate kilometres of the Sumy portion successful little than a month.

While successful the Donetsk portion successful the southeast, Russia's forces are advancing toward the borderline with the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, according to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War. 

Throughout its invasion, Russia has already laid claim to 4 Ukrainian regions implicit which it insists it volition support control. Entering into the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast would mean the state is trying to instrumentality an adjacent greater swath of Ukrainian territory. 

"One aft different determination are settlements and cities, wherever thousands of radical lived, which are being destroyed," said Pavlo Diachenko, head of communications for the Donetsk portion police.

Diachenko is helping evacuate civilians coming nether expanding shelling. Earlier this week, helium told CBC News, helium was assisting radical with leaving the metropolis of Lyman, which has travel nether dense warring passim the war.

In May 2022, the metropolis was captured by Russian forces and past taken backmost by Ukraine 4 months later. 

The frontline remains hardly 8 kilometres away. 

"The concern is highly difficult," said Diachenko, "and we are trying to prevention arsenic galore civilians arsenic possible."