MOSCOW, June 8: Russia and Ukraine remain at odds over the planned exchange of 6,000 fallen soldiers’ bodies, agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul. On Sunday, Russian officials claimed that Moscow is still awaiting confirmation from Kyiv to proceed, accusing Ukraine of delaying the process. Russian Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin stated that over 1,200 Ukrainian bodies had already been delivered to the exchange site, but “signals” suggested a postponement until next week. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned whether the delay was due to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision or NATO influence.
Ukraine rejected the claims, with intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov asserting that preparations were ongoing in line with agreements made in Istanbul. He emphasized that the exchange must be mutually coordinated and condemned what he called Russia’s manipulative tactics. Ukrainian authorities said no official date had been finalized, and accused Moscow of submitting inaccurate lists of prisoners of war.
Despite these tensions, Ukraine insists the repatriation process is moving forward as planned. The swap would be one of the largest of its kind since the full-scale war began in 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed military gains on the battlefield. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces had reached the western edge of Donetsk and had pushed into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region—a development that, if verified, would mark the first Russian incursion into the region during the war. Ukraine did not immediately respond to the claims, and they could not be independently confirmed.
If true, this would represent a significant blow to Ukraine’s overstretched military as peace talks remain stalled and Russian forces make slow but steady gains in other contested regions. Russia annexed Donetsk, along with three other Ukrainian regions, in 2022, though the annexations are not internationally recognized.
In addition to ground combat, both sides engaged in aerial attacks over the weekend. Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed at least one person and wounded another on Sunday. This followed earlier attacks on the city of Kharkiv that killed six and wounded more than two dozen. Ukraine’s air force reported that it intercepted 40 of 49 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Russia also claimed to have shot down 61 Ukrainian drones, including some near Moscow. Ukrainian drone attacks wounded five people in Russia’s Belgorod region and two more at a chemical plant in Tula, where a fire broke out. Drone threats also disrupted operations at three major airports serving Moscow—Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky—causing temporary flight suspensions.
The continuing violence underscores the deepening intensity of the conflict, with diplomatic progress stalled and both sides engaging in direct and retaliatory military actions.
As the situation unfolds, the fate of the fallen soldiers and the integrity of agreements made in Istanbul remain uncertain. Despite plans for a large-scale repatriation of the dead, distrust and conflicting claims continue to complicate efforts on both humanitarian and military fronts. (AP)
