Kyiv has confirmed the repatriation of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers from Russia as part of a prisoner exchange deal involving both nations.

In exchange, Russia has received 27 bodies, as stated by Moscow's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.

This exchange is noted to be a significant aspect of the recent peace talks held in Turkey, wherein both sides agreed to the handover of potentially 6,000 deceased individuals along with sick and severely wounded prisoners of war, as well as those under the age of 25.

Medinsky announced the commencement of the exchange of "severely wounded prisoners" starting on Thursday.

The deceased Ukrainian soldiers hailed from various regions including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukraine's co-ordination center for the treatment of prisoners of war, which detailed that efforts to establish the identities of the deceased would be undertaken as soon as possible.

This latest repatriation is part of an ongoing process that has seen thousands of bodies exchanged throughout the conflict, with over 70 separate repatriations conducted previously.

The current exchange follows accusations from Moscow, claiming Ukraine had not collected the bodies, which Medinsky asserted had been stored in refrigerated trucks at an exchange point since the preceding Saturday.

On the same day, Medinsky claimed that Ukraine had unexpectedly postponed the planned prisoner swaps, a statement that Ukraine refuted by alleging that Russia was engaged in "dirty tricks" and misrepresenting the situation.

The initial round of exchanges occurred earlier this week, marked by poignant reunions as families of missing Ukrainian soldiers gathered at the Belarus border, seeking information from returning soldiers about their loved ones.

Both sides participated in the exchange, although the exact number of individuals involved was not disclosed by either party.