Photo: SBU
The Security Service of Ukraine has announced the completion of a key stage of repatriation activities, during which the bodies of fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to their home regions by rail. Further stages of transportation will take place by road in accordance with the agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul.
According to the SBU, the use of rail transport allowed the bodies of the fallen soldiers to be delivered promptly and in good condition to the relevant institutions in different regions of the country. There, in particular, they will be identified, after which the defenders will be handed over to their families for burial with proper honours.
Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross took part in the repatriation process. They praised the level of organisation – from the technical to the humanitarian component – and stressed that the operation was fully in line with international practices for handling the bodies of the dead and was carried out with deep respect for each soldier.
“This is the result of the coordinated work of a large interagency team,” the SBU stressed.
The Joint Centre for the Search and Release of Prisoners of War under the SBU, the Civil-Military Cooperation Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Defence and its Defence Intelligence, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Missing Persons, the State Emergency Service, the State Border Guard Service, as well as specialists from Ukrzaliznytsia and the South-Western Railway were involved in coordinating the activities.
The operation to repatriate the bodies is not only a matter of humanity, but also of strategic importance – it is evidence that even in times of war, the state does not abandon its own and honours everyone who gave their lives for the freedom of Ukraine.
