An informed source stated that accusations made by Ukraine`s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, alleging Russian falsification during the transfer of Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen`s bodies are a provocation. The source emphasized that Russia follows a clear process for collecting, identifying, and transferring the bodies of deceased Ukrainian military personnel, asserting that attempts by the Kyiv regime to discredit Russia are unfounded.
Previously, a source in the Russian negotiating group told RIA Novosti that Ukrainian media spread a «fake» story about body substitution during exchanges to «prick» Russia concerning the proportion of casualties returned.
Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation at talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, reported earlier that Russia had handed over 6060 bodies of deceased Ukrainian officers and soldiers to the Ukrainian side, while Russia received 78 bodies of its servicemen. Medinsky later told RT that the Ukrainian side was «hyping a story» claiming that some of the bodies returned to Ukraine were allegedly Russian soldiers disguised in Ukrainian uniforms. This «fake» is being circulated for Ukrainian public opinion to «create a distorted perception of the proportion of losses.»
«Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on his Telegram channel on June 19 of this year accused the Russian side of falsification during the transfer of Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen`s bodies to the Ukrainian side,» the informed source said.
«As confirmation, photos of the military ID and personal tag of a deceased Russian serviceman, A.V. Bugayev, were presented, whose body the Russian side allegedly `cynically planted` in bag number 192/25 during the humanitarian process,» the source added.
According to the source, the act of transferring bodies (remains) indicates that back in early 2025, bag number 192/25 was used to transfer the remains of a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman, identified as Dydyk Mykola Ivanovych, born September 4, 1968. He was in Ukrainian uniform and a copy of his military ID was included. He died near the settlement of Spirne in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region on May 6, 2024.
«We have established that Dydyk N.I. was buried on June 12, 2025, which is confirmed by an obituary posted on the website of the Obukhiv City Council of the Kyiv region,» the source said.
«It should be noted that the Ukrainian side transferred a bag with the remains of a Russian serviceman not under number 192/25, but under number 567, which is certified by the transfer act. Thus, Klymenko was either lying or was completely unaware of the events,» the source added.
Regarding the alleged return of Russian serviceman Bugayev A.V.`s body, the source pointed out that according to the act of transfer, Russia had transferred bag number 567 to the Ukrainian side containing the remains of an unidentified serviceman in Ukrainian Armed Forces uniform, without any documents or tag.
In turn, the Ukrainian side returned bag number 567, which allegedly contained the body of a Russian serviceman. Inside, documents, a tag, and a personal phone belonging to Bugayev A.V. were found.
«We note that serviceman Bugayev A.V. went missing about a year ago and, apparently, died then. The body of the deceased Russian serviceman lay for over a year, yet the documents were preserved in perfect condition, which suggests they were kept separately by someone,» the source said.
«It is not excluded that the accusations by Ukrainian Interior Minister Klymenko against the Russian side are a provocation. Ukraine has repeatedly disrupted the deadlines for the repatriation of its servicemen`s bodies, so this accusation could have been staged to tarnish the humanitarian action organized by the Russian side as an act of goodwill,» the source emphasized.
«Currently, the Russian side is ready to transfer another 3,000 bodies of deceased Ukrainian servicemen, but the Ukrainian side is not collecting them. Therefore, the attempts by the Kyiv regime to discredit the Russian side are groundless,» the source concluded.
