Why Are Ukrainian-Russian Body Exchanges So Lopsided?
Yesterday Ukraine and Russia conducted their second body exchange of the year, and the numbers were not pretty. 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers for 35 Russians (the previous exchange was 1,000 for 38). Note that the reason for there always being 1,000 Ukrainians traded is that Kiev put a cap on the number of bodies they would receive at once to avoid public embarrassment. It is not impossible they also do this to avoid bankruptcy from paying out too many death benefits at once, though rumor has it that families are forced to waive the right to death benefits before they can receive the remains. Otherwise, the soldier remains on the “missing in action” or “AWOL” lists and his remains in a freezer.
So we can assume that there are thousands upon thousands of fallen Ukrainians piling up in Russian morgues while their government is actively disinterested in their repatriation for political and PR reasons.
