Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) is the primary agency responsible for accounting and searching for individuals missing under special circumstances since October 2023. In a recent comprehensive interview with the "Rada" television channel, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Igor Klymenko stated that communication with the families of those missing has been successfully established in a short period.
Klymenko emphasized that there are authorized employees in practically all regions to whom family members can turn. Additionally, a hotline is in operation to facilitate communication. The MIA has effectively established full communication with the families of civilians and military personnel missing under special circumstances.
"This is a very sensitive issue for our country. I personally oversee the work of this unit, its formation because there are many external problems related to the perception of the effectiveness of state agencies' work in this direction," highlighted the Minister.
He informed that the registry is already operational, maintained by the MIA, and has verified information on 16,000 individuals missing under special circumstances.
"We have encountered many problems. It is necessary to take DNA samples. Many of our citizens have left the country. We could not compare the relevant DNA of the bodies in the forensic medical examination bureau with the DNA of relatives abroad. Therefore, we tried to do everything fairly quickly here as well," explained Igor Klymenko.
A month ago, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) appealed to Ukrainian citizens residing abroad, with a primary focus on those in Poland and Germany. The MIA requested them to visit designated branches of the State Migration Service (DMS), where the State Enterprise "Document" operates, to provide their DNA samples for comparison.
Regarding other countries, the Minister mentioned that the MIA is collaborating with the International Committee of the Red Cross and will soon announce the acceptance of applications from citizens residing abroad in EU countries who wish to submit their DNA samples.
"Of course, we will determine with them the places where it will be more convenient to come, which country. Perhaps it will be the Czech Republic, perhaps Spain, or again, Poland or Germany," noted the head of the MIA.
To provide more information about missing individuals and the circumstances of their disappearance, the MIA introduced a detailed questionnaire in December of this year. About 1600 Ukrainian citizens, whose relatives went missing, have already utilized this questionnaire.
"To organize a quality search, we need more information. Our citizens can fill out this questionnaire remotely in electronic form or visit the authorized representatives in the regions," emphasized Igor Klymenko.
