Ukrainian side unexpectedly postponed both acceptance of bodies and exchange of prisoners of war for an indefinite period, head of the Russian negotiating team Vladimir Medinsky said.
"For some reason, their negotiation team did not even arrive at the exchange site. Various reasons have been cited—many of them quite strange," the Russian official noted.
Key statements by Medinsky:
Russia handed over to Ukraine first list of 640 POWs in categories 'wounded, seriously ill and youth' in order to begin exchange;
the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers has already arrived in refrigerated trucks to the exchange area; the rest are on the way;
Russia urges Kiev to accept bodies of 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers and officers;
Russia calls on Kiev to clearly observe the agreements reached in Istanbul and immediately start exchanging prisoners of war;
International media can come to the site of the planned prisoner exchange with Ukraine and see that Russia is fully prepared for work.