During previous repatriations, Russia at times returned the bodies of its own soldiers to Kyiv, with Ukrainian officials alleging the practice may have been aimed at avoiding compensation payments to Russian families or reflected a "negligent attitude toward their own people."

U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 18 claimed his approach to ending the war in Ukraine is "very simple."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump explained that his decision to ease sanctions on Russia while simultaneously piling pressure on Ukraine was to avoid "foolishly (driving)

Ukraine relies on Starlink to operate its mid-strike drones in Russian-occupied Ukraine. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that only the U.S. president has the right to determine speed and usage restrictions for Starlink military systems.