Ukraine returns the bodies of 501 fallen defenders.

Ukraine has returned the bodies of 501 fallen defenders after repatriation measures. This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

In particular, 382 bodies of Ukrainian defenders who died in the Avdiivka direction were returned, 56 bodies of fallen soldiers from the Bakhmut direction, 45 from Mariinskyi, six from Vuhledar, four from Zaporizhzhia, and seven from the Luhansk direction.

Additionally, one body was returned from a morgue on the territory of Russia.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine will transport the repatriated bodies and remains to designated state institutions. Then law enforcement officers along with forensic experts will identify the deceased. The bodies of the defenders will be handed over to their families for honorable burial.

The return of the fallen defenders was made possible through the interaction of the Coordination Headquarters with the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing under Special Circumstances, the Main Department of the State Emergency Service, and other security and defense sector structures of Ukraine.

The Coordination Headquarters also expressed thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross for assisting in the return of the bodies of the fallen warriors.

"Glavcom" previously reported that several organizations operate on the front line in Ukraine engaged in the search and removal of the bodies of the deceased. One of the largest is the search unit "Platsdarm." Oleksiy Yukov, the head and founder of the organization, worked on a voluntary basis for the past 10 years. He registered his unit in 2013. Thanks to donations and financial support, he managed to maintain active operations, identify and bring home hundreds of bodies. This year, "Platsdarm" became part of the state program and began work under the Commissioner for Persons Missing under Special Circumstances.