More than 15,000 people are considered missing during the nine months of war in Ukraine, a representative of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) said on Thursday.
The Hague-based organization, created after the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s, opened an office in Kyiv in July to help Ukraine document and trace missing persons, Agerpres said, citing Reuters.
ICMP European Program Director Matthew Holliday said it was not yet known how many people had been forcibly transported to Russia and how many were in detention there, how many were alive and separated from their families, and how many had died and were buried in makeshift graves.
The process of investigating missing persons in Ukraine will continue for years even after the cessation of hostilities, Holliday said in an interview with Reuters.
“The numbers are huge”
The 15,000 figure is raised with caution, given that in the port city of Mariupol alone, authorities estimate that 25,000 people are believed to be dead or missing.
“The numbers are huge, and the challenges facing Ukraine are huge. In addition, they (Ukrainians) are waging a continuous war against the Russian Federation,” Holliday said.
His words came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the United Nations to punish Russia for airstrikes on civilian infrastructure in his country following a new series of missile attacks that plunged Ukrainian towns and villages into darkness and cold.
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