Over 23,000 Ukrainians have gone missing during Russia’s full-scale war

Over 23,000 Ukrainians have entered Ukraine's Unified Register of Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances.

In an interview for Ukrainian Radio, Oleh Kotenko, Commissioner for Missing Persons, said that many of those Ukraine is looking for are alive, but they are in Russian captivity.

According to him, more than 23,000 names are in the register today, but the department still needs to find out whether all these people are really missing under exceptional circumstances.

A person missing under exceptional circumstances disappeared in connection with an armed conflict, military operations, temporary occupation of a part of the territory of Ukraine, or natural or man-made emergencies.

"In almost a year of work, the Commissioner's office found 8,000 people, of which more than 1,500 are the bodies of the dead, which were recovered from the occupied territory," he clarifies.

Kotenko also said that the International Red Cross is an intermediary between Ukraine and Russia. It actively helps because it deals with prisoners, missing people, and humanitarian aid. The exchange of information about the prisoners and the dead continues through the information bureau, which exists both in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. "They have given us many refrigerated trucks and provide training for our search teams," Kotenko added.

• Line of the Commissioner for Missing Persons: 0 800 339 247
• You can also report missing people in person to the Commissioner by phone: (099) 792-01-26
• On weekends, you can send messages via Viber and Telegram to the number: (095) 896-04-21