The identification of the bodies of deceased Ukrainians transferred by Russia will take more than a year - Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Igor Klymenko, stated that the identification of the bodies of Ukrainian citizens transferred by Russia may take over a year. Klymenko emphasized that during the examination process, remains of different individuals have already been discovered in one package, complicating the case and prolonging the work of Ukrainian experts.

Each package we receive may contain not just one body, but many remains of bodies, of one, two, or three people. During the examination, we began to find [fragments] of the body of one person in several packages or in different repatriations. The enemy is trying to do everything to complicate our work and prolong the Time.

Recent exchanges managed to return 6,060 bodies of the deceased, which have already been identified. It is worth noting that for full identification of a person, specialists need about 13-14 months. Experts are working in a tense rhythm to establish the identities of the deceased as quickly as possible.

Repatriation of deceased Ukrainian citizens

In June, the bodies of Ukrainians and servicemen who died in the war were returned to Ukraine. The repatriation part of the Istanbul agreements has already been completed, but the process of examinations and identification of bodies is ongoing. The Foreign Intelligence Service announced a possible information-psychological operation by Russia aimed at discrediting and provoking outrage in Ukrainian society through the dissemination of negative narratives.

Ukrainian authorities confirmed that the process of identifying the bodies transferred by Russia is complex and distressing, but specialists are working diligently to sort this important matter. The restoration and return of deceased Ukrainians to their families is an important component of the peaceful resolution process of the conflict in Donbas.