The intelligence service announced the beginning of the exchange of bodies of the dead between Ukraine and Russia

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, has said that Ukraine plans to start the process of exchanging the bodies of the dead with Russian Federation this week. He stressed that Ukraine was facing information pressure and attempts from outside to dictate the terms of the exchange, but the Ukrainian side strictly adheres to the agreements reached during the talks in Istanbul.

Budanov noted that decisions on who and when to exchange should be made only within the framework of agreed procedures. He condemned attempts of pressure and manipulation, especially by Russian propagandists, who, he said, are trying to speculate on the human grief they themselves are involved in.

According to the intelligence chief, preparations for the exchange continue and the Ukrainian side is doing everything possible to implement the agreements. He stressed that the start of repatriation activities is expected this week, despite the attempts of the enemy to wage information warfare and undermine confidence in the process.

Earlier Socialportal wrote about the story of Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevich, who spent more than two years in Russian captivity. Maksym was sentenced to 13 years in the Russian Federation on a trumped-up case that claimed he was an extremist who ran a group of far-right radicals. These charges shocked everyone who knew Maksim. He was a human rights activist for decades, co-founder of the organisation Without Borders, and one of the few people in Ukraine who cared about the fate of asylum seekers, refugees, and foreign students who faced arbitrariness, rudeness, and intolerance. He also helped political refugees stemming from authoritarian regimes, primarily Putin's.