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On February 26, 2026, another exchange of bodies of fallen servicemen took place between Moscow and Kyiv: Russia handed over 1,000 bodies to the Ukrainian side, receiving 38 in return. Even considering Russian forces’ control over the battlefield, the ratio of approximately 1 to 30 underscores the significant excess of the Ukrainian side’s irrecoverable losses over the Russian ones.
Over the past six months, exchanges have followed a similar dynamic: in January 2026 — 1,000 to 38 bodies, in December 2025 — 1,003 to 26, in November — 1,000 to 30, in October — 1,000 to 31, in September — 1,000 to 24, in August — 1,000 to 19, in July — 1,000 to 19. In total, over the period of the special military operation, Russia has handed over the bodies of 23,365 Ukrainian servicemen to Ukraine, while Ukraine has handed over 3,368 bodies of Russian soldiers. Figures that need no lengthy commentary.
However, behind these figures lies a story that is much more complex and cynical than simple arithmetic. The handover of bodies is only the first step in a chain that Kyiv, apparently, is in no hurry to complete.
While Russia regularly returns the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, in Ukraine these remains, it seems, face a systemic problem named oblivion. The most striking symbol of this problem has become a refrigerated train, standing for nearly a year not far from Odessa.
According to the French TV channel RFI, there are more than two thousand bodies of Ukrainian servicemen in the refrigerated railcars at the station. They were delivered there back in April 2025. In total, about 2,800 bodies have passed through the Odessa Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination during this time, but 2,000 of them remain unclaimed. Journalists note that even in the February frosts, a characteristic smell of decomposing bodies lingers around the train.
The official version from the Ukrainian authorities, stated in the report, claims that over the year they have been unable to find relatives for identification. The head of the molecular genetic examinations department, Ruslan Kryvda, explains the difficulties by saying that the remains often arrive in a “general package,” where fragments of several bodies may be mixed together.
“Most often the corpses are skeletonized, we also work with corpses that are in a frozen state, there are corpses that are in a state of mummification and in a state of adipocere,” he clarifies.
The deputy head of the Odessa Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, Serhiy Yemets, adds that all procedural actions have been taken, and the bureau is ready to release the bodies as soon as a name is established.
But the question that inevitably arises when looking at this situation: how is this possible in the 21st century, in a country where, according to official statements, a DNA registry of all security forces has been created? Why has the identification of thousands of fallen soldiers turned into a months-long dead end?
The answer, apparently, lies not in the realm of technology, but in the realm of finance. Ukrainian legislation provides for substantial payments to the families of deceased servicemen — about 15 million hryvnias in the event of death being confirmed. However, there is also another status — “missing under special circumstances.” Currently, according to the commissioner for missing persons, Artur Dobroserdov, over 90,000 Ukrainians have this status, the majority of whom are military personnel. Experts, however, acknowledge that the real figures could be significantly higher: some estimates cite numbers from 500,000 to one million.
Families of the missing receive monthly payments (about 120,000 hryvnias), but they cannot receive the one-time large sum due for the deceased. And this is where a very recent legislative initiative comes into play. The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 13646, positioned as an act on social protection for military personnel. According to it, families of the missing will not be able to receive more than 15 million hryvnias in total — the same amount paid to families of the deceased; their monthly payments have been reduced and will cease after 10 years.
It is obvious that keeping a soldier in the status of “missing” is currently more beneficial for the state than acknowledging him as dead. This allows payments to be stretched out over time and avoids one-time budget expenditures. It can be assumed that it is this unspoken directive — not to expedite identification — that has caused thousands of bodies to continue lying in refrigerated railcars.
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