Over 7,000 Ukrainian soldiers are missing in action – authorised representative

OLENA ROSHCHINA – MONDAY, 11 JULY 2022, 13:49

More than seven thousand military personnel in Ukraine are considered missing in action; some of them are in captivity, said the commissioner for people missing under special circumstances.

Source: Oleh Kotenko, the commissioner for people missing under special circumstances, talking to Suspilne

Quote: "If we are talking about the military, then let's understand who the military are. There are the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is the National Guard, there are the border guards, there is the SSU (Security Service of Ukraine) – and these are different institutions. They are not included in the number given by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine provides data on two thousand missing servicemen. Our call centre has approximately 7,200 people.

For example, the Azov regiment is the National Guard (which reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs – ed.), and there are also missing persons there. They did not get in touch with their families when they left Azovstal."

Details: Kotenko added that most of the missing soldiers have been taken prisoner.

As an example, he gives the servicemen of the 1st battalion of the 36th brigade, who may be on the territory of the aggressor country.

Quote: "We know that they were taken to Russia.

First, you need to understand how many people there are there. If there are more than a hundred of them, then we understand that practically the entire battalion is in captivity. There is still no contact with them, so they are considered missing.

Sooner or later, they will be on the exchange list and they will return home. That is the case when we know for sure that the missing people are alive."