Kyiv has reported receiving the remains of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who lost their lives in battles against Russia, marking the second repatriation in just three weeks.
The exchange of prisoners of war and the deceased has emerged as one of the few points of collaboration between the two parties since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“As a result of repatriation activities, the bodies of 909 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine,” stated the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, a Ukrainian governmental body, on social media.
Typically, Russia does not announce the repatriation of its soldiers’ remains nor does it provide updated figures regarding its military casualties in Ukraine.
This exchange occurred amidst apparent stagnation in US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire between the conflicting sides.
Tens of thousands from both factions are believed to have perished, although neither nation routinely releases casualty numbers.
In mid-February, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed to NBC News that over 46,000 of his soldiers had been killed and around 380,000 injured.
Since autumn 2022, Russia has not updated its casualty figures, stating then that fewer than 6,000 soldiers had died.
An ongoing investigation by Mediazona and the BBC’s Russian service has managed to identify the names of approximately 100,000 deceased Russian soldiers since the war commenced, utilizing publicly available information.
Ukraine PM to visit US next week for resource deal talks
Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Yulia Svyrydenko, signed the rare earth minerals agreement.
Next week, Ukraine’s prime minister will be traveling to Washington for discussions with senior US officials aimed at finalizing a long-awaited minerals and resources deal by April 26, as per a memorandum.
The United States and Ukraine had intended to formalize a deal on the extraction of Ukraine’s strategic minerals weeks ago; however, a disagreement between presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in February temporarily halted the negotiations.
Mr. Trump is advocating for the deal—structured to provide the US with royalty payments from profits derived from Ukrainian resource and rare mineral mining—as compensation for the aid extended to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
A document titled “memorandum of intent,” signed by representatives of both nations, indicates they “aim” to conclude discussions by Saturday, April 26, and to finalize the agreement “as soon as possible.”
“Ukrainian Prime Minister (Denys) Shmygal will visit Washington, DC the week of April 21, 2025, to meet with US Treasury Secretary (Scott) Bessent and give high-level support to the resolution of technical discussions,” the document published by the Ukrainian government states.
“Negotiating teams are expected to provide an update on progress by April 26, 2025, with the objective of completing discussions by that date and to sign as soon as possible,” it continued.
US officials assert that enhancing American business interests in Ukraine will help deter future Russian aggression should a ceasefire be achieved.
Ukraine is advocating for concrete military and security guarantees as part of any agreement to end the three-year conflict.
Earlier, Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, shared on social media that the memorandum had been signed.
“We are pleased to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, paving the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the creation of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” she wrote.
A Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington at the end of last week for negotiations following the Trump administration’s proposition of a new, broader agreement.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In a meeting with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office yesterday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, “we’re still working on the details,” noting that the signing could occur by next Friday.
“It’s substantially what we’d agreed on previously,” he mentioned.
“When the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We progressed to the major deal, which I believe is an 80-page agreement, and that’s what we will be signing.”
The White House has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the timing and specifics of the agreement.
Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated that the two nations might sign the memorandum online later in the day.
“This is a memorandum of intent. We harbor positive, constructive intentions,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters in Ukraine.
He added that the US had proposed to sign the memorandum prior to the comprehensive deal, which would need ratification from the Ukrainian parliament.
Earlier, Ms. Svyrydenko mentioned that significant progress had been made between Ukraine and the US during their discussions, and that the memorandum represented the initial stage to document this advancement.
