More than 50,000 Ukrainians have gone missing

The full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has changed the scale of the search for missing people. After February 2022, the number of missing persons in our country increased fourfold.

Deputy head of the National Police, Andrii Nebytov, announced this. He cited sad statistics.

“To date, 50,150 people remain unaccounted for,” Nebytov said.

He emphasized that each person on this list is not just a statistical unit, “it is grief, pain and suffering of relatives and close people.”

Nebytov explained that the burden on the criminal investigation has increased. It is extremely difficult to carry out investigative work in the conditions of war due to the unpredictable situation at the front, massive Russian attacks on cities and villages, population migration and temporary occupation of territories. Under such circumstances, gathering information and verifying data becomes difficult.

“However, operational colleagues are working at their maximum and continue to fight for every human destiny,” the deputy head of the National Police stressed.

The Unified Register of Missing Persons has become operational in Ukraine. It contains data on Ukrainians whose fate and whereabouts are unknown.

As of October 5, 2023, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of people have gone missing. 26,000 people are officially considered missing. Among them, 15,000 are military and 11,000 are civilians.

Search groups can be created in Ukraine, which will search for missing persons under special circumstances. The relevant changes were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The deaths of some soldiers who have been declared missing have not been legally registered, so their relatives cannot confirm their deaths.