Number of Ukrainians Missing Identified

In special circumstances, Dmitry Bogatyuk, head of the department for cases of missing persons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported that 42,000 people are officially considered missing in Ukraine. Information about these cases is entered into a unified registry. This was reported by Ukrinform.

It was noted that since the registry's operation began in May 2023, information about over 51,000 individuals has been recorded. According to Bogatyuk, information about 7,000 individuals has already been confirmed. Of these, 3,000 are listed as 'alive and well', with the overwhelming majority being former prisoners of war. Additionally, 4,000 identified bodies have been recovered, most of whom are defenders of Ukraine.

The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that 90 percent of the applications regarding missing persons are investigated by the national police. Missing Ukrainians are most often found in Russian captivity. Bogatyuk also mentioned a problem that complicates the search for individuals: the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine does not collect DNA samples from soldiers heading to combat zones.

The only registry for missing persons contains data on Ukrainians whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown. It aids in the search for individuals and also helps the dependents of missing citizens receive compensation for the loss of a breadwinner.