14:38 31.01.2024

Chief of Main Investigation Dept of National Police: 2,100 dead Ukrainians, incl. military, remain unidentified

2 min read

During the full–scale aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, investigators of the National Police identified more than 3,600 people who were considered missing, to date, 2,100 Ukrainians, including military personnel, remain unidentified, First Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine, Head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine Maksym Tsutskiridze has said.

"Since the full-scale invasion, National Police investigators have identified more than 3,600 people who were considered missing," Tsutskiridze said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, identification took place in different ways. "First of all, this is identification by relatives and friends by means of visual features. Their brothers-in-arms help to identify the dead servicemen - they know what documents and certificates, things the military had," he added.

Tsutskiridze said: "2,100 people, including the military, remain unidentified. The bodies are in such a state that you don't understand whether it's a military man or a civilian. There are also many non-body remains."

He clarified that a large number of unidentified people are from Dnipropetrovsk region. "We understand that most of them are the bodies of our defenders, which are brought from the front line," said the first deputy head of the National Police.

"The positional war, unfortunately, does not allow us to quickly take the bodies of killed soldiers from the battlefield. The bodies of both our military and Russian servicemen are stored in our refrigerators, which are then exchanged," Tsutskiridze added.

He also said that work is currently underway to enter the DNA profiles of relatives into the database: "There are already 7,000 profiles for comparison. At the moment, we have 32 high-speed DNA sampling laboratories provided by international partners, and we expect 12 more."

According to Tsutskiridze, about 1,000 people were identified precisely due to DNA examination.

"Criminologists are doing a tremendous job so that loved ones can bury their close person in a human way," said the head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police.

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