Similar swaps have been carried out on an almost monthly basis. In May, Russia handed over 212 bodies to Ukraine in exchange for the remains of 45 troops. In June, Kiev received the bodies of 250 soldiers, while 32 were returned to Russia.
The latest swap took place one day after the Russian Defense Ministry updated its estimate ofKiev’s losses in the conflict, claiming that the Ukrainian military lost more than 60,000 soldiers in July alone.
The ministry also said on Friday that Kiev had lost more than 13,500 troops in just one week between July 26 and August 2.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimedUkraine’s losses were five times higher than Moscow’s. The Ukrainian military was losing some 50,000 personnel a month, he said at that time.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Colonel General Aleksandr Syrsky, declined to give casualty figures in an interview with The Guardian in late July. He described the level of losses as a “sensitive” topic that could be exploited by Moscow.
https://www.rt.com/russia/602062-moscow-kiev-swap-remains-soldiers/