Speaking on June 8, Russian Lieutenant General Alexander Zorin said: "In just 1 hour, trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers will begin moving".
Russia said more than 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were prepared for handover as agreed at the Istanbul peace talks round on June 2.
However, Russia accused Ukraine of not confirming the receipt of the bodies that were brought to an exchange point near Novaya Guta (Belarus) on June 7.
In response, Kiev completely rejected it and said it was strictly complying with the terms agreed in Istanbul.
Everything is going according to plan, Kyrylo Budanov, director of defense intelligence of Ukraine, said. We have clearly informed the Russian side since June 3 about the start of the repatriation work next week, Budanov said on June 8.
At the same time, an exchange of prisoners scheduled for June 7 failed, as Russia blamed Ukraine for the delay of the last minute. Kiev has denied the accusations, calling them a dirty information game by the Kremlin.
Russia claimed that hundreds of bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were lying in frozen vehicles at the exchange point, but no representative from Ukraine came to receive them. Russian media also released a video recording the two people wearing protective gear opening the cargo of a vehicle filled with white bags, claiming to be the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine said that the two sides have only agreed to exchange seriously injured prisoners and young soldiers under 25 years old, while the time to return the bodies has not been officially confirmed.
Previously, according to Vladimir Medinsky - head of the Russian negotiation mission, the transfer process had begun according to the "correct agreement with Istanbul", with 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers present at the handover point, the rest "on the way".
Mr. Medinsky said that Russia had presented a list of 640 Ukrainian prisoners, including seriously injured people and young people, in preparation for exchanges. However, Ukraine emphasized that the return of bodies and exchange of prisoners are two completely separate processes, which should not be combined or Politized.
On the same day, Russia-appointed Governor of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, announced a list of 97 Ukrainian soldiers killed, saying he would continue to publish more so that Relatives can identify the deceased.
