Ukraine gathers Russian dead in chilled train for prisoner exchange
STORY: As Ukraine pushes Russian forces back from towns in the Kharkiv region – volunteers are sifting through what the Russians left behind.
In this case – the bodies of its soldiers.
“From here we retrieved the body of a Russian serviceman. He was in the basement, in the kitchen. He was left alone when his fellow servicemen retreated. Most likely, he shot himself.”
At a recent recovery effort in the village of Mala Rohan, just east of Kharkiv city, volunteers were working to gather the bodies of Russian soldiers strewn among the rubble of formerly occupied towns and using everything from DNA to tattoos to verify their identities.
"In the future this will tell us which soldier, which brigade was in this region, for further exchange."
Ukrainian Armed Forces Captain Anton Ivannikov said the bodies are sometimes used as part of prisoner exchanges and other times in exchanges for Ukrainian bodies.
Two volunteers wrapped the bodies in white plastic tarps and lifted them into a waiting ambulance.
“These two bodies had their hands tied. Most likely this was done by Russian soldiers themselves. Maybe they were deserters, or this was a punishment measure.”
Reuters was unable to verify the circumstances of any of the deaths.
Volunteers have helped the military gather 60 bodies in the northeastern region of Kharkiv where Russian forces have retreated in recent weeks, stacking them up in a refrigerated rail carriage.
Ivannikov said the bodies will travel on the train to Kyiv where the team negotiating exchanges is based.
Moscow calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm its neighbor. Kyiv said it never threatened Russia in any way and says the attack was completely unprovoked.
