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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Russia has repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing the unusual occurrence as a sign of Moscow’s disorganisation in handling large swaps of wounded prisoners of war and military remains.
Speaking to journalists on Friday Mr Zelenskyy disclosed that an Israeli citizen was among the deceased received by Ukraine. Officials have not yet disclosed the identities of the bodies.
He condemned Russia’s apparent disregard for its own troops, stating: “They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports.”
Mr Zelenskyy added that despite the clear evidence, the Russian side had insisted that all the dead were Ukrainians.
Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region.
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Freed Ukrainian soldiers arriving after a POW exchange with Russia walk past Ukrainians holding photos of their missing relatives in the Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and that the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead.
Zelenskyy said he suspected Russia’s plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the U.S. and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning.
He said that because of this, Ukraine would be “in a really difficult situation” of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul.
Impact of Iran-Israel war on Ukraine
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, because of its military partnership with Russia, but stopped short of expressing explicit support for Israel’s strikes. He repeated that the new war in the Middle East will affect Ukraine indirectly.
“Iran gave the Russians everything to kill us. They gave them martyrs, they gave them missiles, and they gave them licenses. The fact that their production capacities have now become weaker is (a) positive for us. But at certain points it may already be too late,” he said, also citing Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea.
Russia has modified Iran-made Shahed drones and has used them, often hundreds at a time, in barrages targeting Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said 39 Russian companies were involved in the production of Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He said 21 of them are not under sanctions. “And therefore it is absolutely incomprehensible why sanctions should not be imposed urgently,” he said.
Russia attacked Ukraine with the missile in November, marking a serious escalation in the war and Russia’s capabilities.
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A handout photo made available by the National Guard of Ukraine shows Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) reacting following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, 20 June 2025 (EPA)
Zelenskyy dispelled reports that Patriots air defense systems were destroyed in recent Russian drone and missile barrages. He also said Ukraine has started using domestically produced interceptors to shoot down Shahed drones and is seeking financing from Germany to ramp up the weapon’s production.
He added he sent signals to Western partners asking them to give up 0.25% of their GDP to support Ukraine’s local defense industry.
Zelenskyy said it’s likely he would attend a NATO summit later this week, but that he would make a final decision on Monday.
Though Zelenskyy did not meet Trump who had left early the Group of Seven summit in Canada last week, Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the head of the president’s office, Andriy Yermak, gave U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a list of weapons Ukraine is hoping to purchase. “We will wait feedback,” Zelenskyy said, adding the package of weapons included Patriot systems.
The weapons package would be among the topics Zelenskyy plans to discuss with Trump in their next meeting, he added, as well as the issue of sanctions.
“Frankly, it seems to me that we need to talk about a new breath in the diplomatic track,” he said. “We need greater certainty and greater pressure from the world on Putin.”