Russia sent to Ukraine some of its dead troops in a prisoner and body exchange to hide Moscow's true battlefield losses, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president said that Vladimir Putin was using the return of war dead to obscure the scale of military losses from the Russian public.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 21 responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statements on Ukraine, saying that Ukraine intends to defend itself and that the government had made several decisions to bolster security in light of the Kremlin's threats.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that during the latest exchange of fallen service members, Ukraine received the bodies of 20 individuals who had fought for the Russian Federation — Ukrinform.