AP: Russia hands over 52 bodies of Azov fighters to Ukraine

Russia has begun handing over the bodies of Ukrainian servicemen killed on the territory of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol to Ukraine, Associated Press reports.

Anna Holovko, a spokeswoman for the Azov Regiment, stated that the warring sides had received 160 bodies each on 2 June on the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region. At least 52 of the bodies are thought to be the remains of Azov battalion soldiers.

The bodies were transported to Kyiv, where DNA testing is underway to identify the remains, AP reports.

On 4 June, Ukraine’s Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories announced that Russia and Ukraine had carried out the first exchange of dead bodies of their servicemen, with each side handing over 160 bodies. Russia has not provided an official statement regarding the swap.

On 20 May, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that the Azovstal steelworks had been fully “liberated” from Azov battalion fighters. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that the operation had concluded, and that the steelworks and Mariupol had been “fully liberated from Ukrainian militants.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at the time that civilians, medics and injured persons were evacuated from the plant.