Body of Russian Soldier Found Among Repatriated Ukrainian War Dead

Among the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers returned by Russia under the Istanbul agreements, Ukrainian authorities discovered the remains of a Russian citizen along with personal documents.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported the finding. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Russia was deliberately turning the repatriation process into a tool of political pressure and manipulation.

“The enemy deliberately complicates identification, creates confusion, and mixes the bodies of Russian soldiers with those of Ukrainians,” Klymenko said.

According to the minister, Ukraine has gathered concrete evidence of such actions. The names of several Russian soldiers and officers involved have been identified. Klymenko described them as individuals whom “the Russian government considered disposable.”

One of the bodies, labeled No. 192/25, was dressed in a uniform of the Russian Armed Forces.

The deceased was found with a Russian passport, military ID, service member’s certificate No. 1252, an extract from military order No. 52 dated December 26, 2023, and an identification tag marked: “ВС РОССИИ МТ-146004.”

The soldier was identified as Aleksandr Viktorovich Bugayev, born in 1974, a member of the 1st Battalion of Russia’s 39th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (unit No. 35390).

His relatives reported him missing in late March after he disappeared near the village of Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region.

“This is further evidence of how Russia disregards its own soldiers — dumping their bodies alongside those of Ukrainian troops,” the Interior Ministry said. “It shows how little value Russia places on human life, or perhaps it’s a way to avoid making compensation payments to families.”

Klymenko added that Ukraine would return the bodies of Russian soldiers to the Russian side.

The discovery of Russian remains among the repatriated Ukrainian war dead was first reported on June 16.