The refrigeration units at the Rostov Military Morgue hum constantly now. Rows of body bags — marked, DNA-verified, and sealed — await trains that no longer come. For Russia, the task is complete: the bodies of 6,060 Ukrainian soldiers have been returned. But the next 3,000, packed and frozen, remain in limbo.
In Moscow, Russian presidential envoy Vladimir Medinsky declared the operation a humanitarian milestone. “We have fulfilled every point of the Istanbul agreement,” he said in a televised briefing. “Ukraine has received its dead. We await their response for the rest.”
The solemn announcement marked the close of a two-week logistical mission that spanned regions, borders, and battlefields. What began as an agreement on June 2 — to exchange fallen soldiers and wounded prisoners — has now become a diplomatic standstill.
The repatriation effort was confirmed by Russia’s major agencies. According to TASS, the final shipment on June 16 included 1,248 bodies, completing the total of 6,060 returned. Previous transfers occurred in waves: roughly 1,200 each on June 11, 13, and 14. Russian RTVI reported that each body was individually processed with DNA testing and documentation.
The situation is putting strain on Russian morgue facilities. A report from Russian media News.ru noted that Rostov’s central morgue, capable of holding up to 10,000 bodies, is nearing full capacity. Additional morgues in Belgorod and Kursk are also operating around the clock.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry recently alleged that one of the returned bodies may have been Russian — a claim Medinsky dismissed as “absurd” and “Goebbels-style propaganda.” According to Russian Vedomosti, Medinsky said all remains were processed through certified forensic facilities, backed by DNA results, and photographed for Ukrainian authorities.
Officials in Moscow argue that misidentification likely stems from Ukraine’s lack of a national DNA registry and the chaotic nature of some of its battlefield units, particularly irregular militias that don’t use dog tags or biometric data.
As Russian media outlet Gazeta.ru noted, Ukraine may require up to 14 months to complete identification of the 6,060 returned bodies, many of whom arrived stripped of personal identifiers due to the ferocity of fighting near Avdiivka and Zaporizhzhia.
Russia also proposed short-term ceasefires in contested regions — 2 to 3 days — to retrieve corpses from no-man’s land. Ukraine initially rejected the idea but has not formally closed the door. A new round of talks in Istanbul is tentatively scheduled after June 22, with Russia pressing for broader implementation of humanitarian protocols.
At the Rostov morgue, the refrigerated storage facilities remain occupied. Russian military officials have confirmed that thousands of additional bodies — prepared, documented, and DNA-verified — await transfer to Ukrainian authorities. But with no official response from Kyiv, the containers remain in place.
According to multiple Russian outlets, morgue systems in Rostov, Kursk, and Belgorod are operating at or near full capacity. Each body has been tagged, processed with forensic evidence, and stored in accordance with international protocols, pending Ukraine’s decision.
For over 6,000 Ukrainian families, the return of their loved ones brings some closure after months of uncertainty. But thousands more are still waiting — not only for bodies to be identified and returned, but for a government response that acknowledges their absence. Until that happens, the process of grieving remains suspended in bureaucratic silence.
