Over 70 thousand Ukrainians missing: what is known about their fate.

According to FREEДOM:

Missing persons in Ukraine

As of June this year, more than 70 thousand people are considered missing in Ukraine, including both military and civilians. This data was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In Kyiv, ahead of the International Day of the Missing Persons, which will be observed on August 30, an event titled 'Silent Voices: When Absence Screams' took place. The FREEДОМ TV channel team also participated in this event.

Stories of relatives of the missing

Nataliia is the wife of serviceman Vitalii Skvortsov of the 93rd brigade, who went missing on August 26, 2022, in the Bakhmut direction.

“He went to serve in March 2022 and immediately joined the 93rd brigade. He was not a military man, he worked as a locksmith at a factory. He went as a volunteer when the full-scale war began. We communicated on August 25, 2022, but he didn't tell where he was, just that he was in the Donetsk region. I learned everything else later when my husband went missing. There are still no news — neither confirmation of captivity nor information about his whereabouts. It has already been the fourth year. I am searching, I have hope, I am waiting, we are all waiting for our father, husband, and grandfather,” — says the wife of the serviceman Nataliia Skvortsova.

Ludmyla last spoke with her husband, serviceman Fedir Fesenko of the 93rd brigade, on August 26, 2022. Her husband also served in the Bakhmut direction.

“We have a very strange story. On August 27, 2022, they came from the military enlistment office and said that my husband had died. But since it was Saturday, they would process the documents on Monday and bring him for burial on August 30 or 31. No one brought him. We searched for three weeks in all morgues and hospitals. Later we found out that he was not on the list of the dead. The coffin stood on the veranda for a month. We were told to prepare for the funeral, but already on November 5, the status was changed from dead to missing. The Russian Federation does not confirm captivity. I have turned to everyone I could, of course, I believe he is alive, or I want to believe that. You know, outwardly I'm fine, but inside something is eating away at me,” — shares the woman.

Another relative, Olena, also tirelessly searches for her son:

“Went missing in a battle with Wagner fighters near Bakhmut on February 10, 2023. I have been searching for my son for two years and seven months. Our 5th separate assault brigade is unique, yet our boys are not confirmed anywhere. However, when prisoners of war return, they hear about our boys — but where they are, we do not know. Many of our boys are in Chechnya. There is already confirmation that 37 people are there. They are not exchanged. This year my son will turn 35, mobilized on April 2, 2022. He has a family, a little son who is waiting for him very much, just like me,” — says the mother of the missing warrior Olena Semishko.

Problems with return

In Ukraine, thousands of similar stories exist, each of which is unique. But they are all united by one — relentless waiting. To share their pain, receive advice, and draw public attention to the problem of enforced disappearances, a nationwide event 'Silent Voices: When Absence Screams' was held in Kyiv. As part of it, an exhibition 'Eyes that Wait' was opened. It showcases 30 stories of people who, year after year, believe and hope to hear: 'The status of searching for a person has been canceled'. These are 30 narratives of those who hopelessly struggle and support each other. Among these associations is the public organization 'Women of the Lineage'. They work in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War daily to bring their loved ones home.

“This is the pain felt by those who have a missing person status. Missing soldiers, whose fate we are trying to clarify, are either in captivity or have died. Everyone involved in this structure performs important work daily to find and return them. The Main Intelligence Directorate learns information about those who are recorded as missing and are in captivity. We document every such case,” — said Bohdan Okrymchenko, head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

In their search efforts, specialists are assisted by a single register of missing persons, as well as communication with families. The main problem in identifying the missing is the Russian side’s unwillingness to provide truthful data.

“We all try to obtain reliable information, but if it is concealed by the Russian side, not provided at all, ignoring our requests, it becomes very difficult. But we are doing everything we can to obtain information,” — commented Valentina Akulenko, head of the Secretariat of the Authorized Representative for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as of June 2025, more than 70 thousand individuals are considered missing in Ukraine. This figure includes both military and civilian persons. Unfortunately, the fate of many missing may only be determined after the war's end or after the active phase of hostilities when search groups can work in previously occupied territories.