14:15 11.07.2022

More than 7,000 Ukrainian military remain missing – Kotenko

1 min read
More than 7,000 Ukrainian military remain missing – Kotenko

More than 7,000 Ukrainian military are considered missing to date, Commissioner on Persons Gone Missing under Special Circumstances Oleh Kotenko has said.

"When we speak about the military, let us make it clear who the military are. We have the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), we have the National Guard, we have the Border Guard Service, we have the Security Service of Ukraine, and all these are separate institutions. They are not included in the numbers reported by the AFU. The AFU reports 2,000 missing military," he told the Suspilne news channel.

The commissioner's call center has information about around 7,200 Ukrainian servicemen who are considered missing, Kotenko said.

"For example, the Azov regiment is the National Guard [subordinated to the Interior Ministry], and some of its fighters are missing as well. They did not get in touch with their relatives after they [the regiment] had left Azovstal," the commissioner said.

He also noted that the majority of the missing Ukrainian military were captivated by the Russian occupation forces, adding that sooner or later the Ukrainian defenders will return home after a prisoner swap.

AD
AD
AD
AD