Bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders returned to Ukraine

As a result of repatriation activities, the bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders have been returned to Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The report says that, in particular, 320 bodies of the Defenders who died in the Donetsk sector and 89 fallen soldiers from the Bakhmut sector were repatriated. They also managed to return 154 bodies from morgues in Russia.

"The fallen defenders were returned thanks to the cooperation of the staff of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War with the Joint Center of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Central Military Command), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and other representatives of the security and defense sector of Ukraine," the press service said.

The headquarters expressed special gratitude for the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

It is noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will transport the repatriated bodies and remains to designated state institutions. Law enforcement officials and forensic experts will identify the victims.

Earlier it was reported that the National Memorial Platform has launched a new fundraising campaign, Donate to Memory, to ensure its continued work. The team aims to raise UAH 1 million to develop the project, which has been publishing stories of people whose lives were taken by war every day since March 2022. Today, the Memorial has more than 8,000 stories with the names of the victims.

Also recently, 20 granite monuments on the graves of fallen soldiers were installed at the Geologists' Cemetery of the Kherson community and replaced with new 20 flagpoles.

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