Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Saturday accused Ukraine of indefinitely postponing the exchange of prisoners (POWs) and dead bodies. This development comes amid yet another heavy Russian drone and missile onslaught at Kharkiv on the same day that saw four killed and 40 injured.
The exchange of as many as 12,000 dead soldiers and certain prisoners of war had been agreed upon (to take place from June 7-9) at the second iteration of the Istanbul peace talks on Monday, which, however, failed to achieve a ceasefire.
ALSO READ | Why do Russia and Ukraine swap prisoners, but not peace?
"In strict accordance with the Istanbul agreements, on June 6, Russia began a humanitarian operation to hand over to Ukraine more than 6,000 bodies of killed Ukrainian servicemen, as well as to exchange wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war and prisoners of war under the age of 25," Medinsky clarified on Telegram.
“1,212 bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers are already in refrigerated containers at the exchange point. Russia has also handed over to Ukraine the first list of 640 prisoners of war, categorised as 'wounded, seriously ill and young people' in order to begin the exchange,” Medinsky added.
"We are on site. We are fully prepared to work. International TV channels, news agencies and correspondents are welcome to come and see for themselves that this is indeed the case," he said, claiming that while Russia “always keeps its word”, Ukrainian officials tasked with the exchange were nowhere to be seen.
"Today's statements by the Russian side do not correspond to reality or to previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies," Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council said on Telegram.
Meanwhile, in what Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terehov called one of the most powerful attacks on the Northeastern city, dozens of explosions rent the air as Russian troops struck simultaneously with missiles, drones and guided aerial bombs. Multi-storey and private residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, he noted, as per a Reuters report.
ALSO READ | NATO ignores CRUCIAL Russian peace demand, invites Ukraine to next Summit
Kyiv's sudden silence on the humanitarian exchange possibly reflects anger at Russia's devastating offensive in recent days, which Moscow claims was revenge for Kyiv's daring Operation Spider Web, that destroyed about 15 airplanes deep inside Russian territory.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, proposed to hold the next round of the Istanbul negotiations between June 20 and 30, an Interfax report said.