Purpose: This study analyzes the dynamics of battlefield recovery, transfer, identification, and repatriation of dead soldiers in the Russia-Ukraine war from February 2022 to August 8, 2026. It introduces the concept of "dead diplomacy" to describe the limited humanitarian cooperation on deceased combatants that persists alongside an active war.

Research Methodology: The research employs a qualitative documentary case-study design, drawing on secondary data from international humanitarian organizations, official Ukrainian institutions, major news agencies, and peer-reviewed forensic and conflict scholarship. Content and thematic analysis is applied to interpret a non-graphic pictorial corpus of recovery and transfer operations.

Results: The timing, volume, and asymmetry of repatriations are shaped primarily by territorial control and battlefield turnover, meaning exchange ratios cannot be equated with casualty ratios. High-intensity artillery, mines, drones, fragmentation, decomposition, and inaccessible kill zones render battlefield recovery a forensic problem, creating a second delay between physical repatriation and definitive identification. Large-scale returns nonetheless remain possible through institutionalized humanitarian channels and neutral-intermediary arrangements even without ceasefire diplomacy, as demonstrated by the June 2025 Istanbul process and repatriations continuing through July 2026.

Conclusions: The study proposes a Battlefield-Humanitarian Bargaining Framework linking territorial access, negotiated transfer, and forensic identification.

Limitations: Findings rely on secondary and open-source materials, limiting verification of contested details.

Contributions: Repatriation is reframed as a diplomatic instrument negotiating legal responsibility, family rights, evidence, and the political meaning of loss.