The Russian Executive has communicated this Sunday that the Ukrainian authorities have dismissed a proposal presented by Moscow to return the mortal remains of Ukrainian soldiers who died in the fighting for control of the strategic town of Konstantinovka.
"On July 4, 2026, the Russian Ministry of Defense (...) proposed a humanitarian action to repatriate the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers fallen in the city of Konstantinovka after the capture of the city by Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities. The Ukrainian side has rejected this proposal," the Russian Ministry of Defense explained in a statement. Ukraine denies that Konstantinovka is under Russian control.
From Moscow, they have criticized that Kyiv "has done absolutely nothing for the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers to be buried with dignity by their families." In the same note, the Russian authorities describe these soldiers as "expendable material, recruited mainly for the front through forced mobilization."
The Russian initiative also included a limited ceasefire for July 6, between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM, according to Moscow time. The offer, which expired this Sunday at noon, has not received a response from Ukraine. According to Russian media, Russia had organized the transfer of the bodies with the presence of journalists from at least twenty countries.
The capture of Konstantinovka, which Kyiv continues to refuse to recognize, would represent a military advance of great importance for Russia. In the words of the deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Sergei Rudskoi, this town is "the key to the last Ukrainian bastion" in Donbas, that is, the line of fortified cities of Slaviansk-Kramatorsk.