In April, an estimated 7,000 Ukrainian military personnel were reported missing, as per a Ukrainian authority. It is presumed that these individuals were either captured by the Russian side or lost their lives while engaged in duty during the conflict.
According to Oleg, who was quoted by the Pravda news site, there exists a group of individuals exceeding 7,000 in number. He further stated that these missing individuals may be held captive by Russia in the designated search area. Oleg’s remarks were made on April 18, in his capacity as Ukraine’s special envoy for missing persons in special circumstances, as reported by Kotenko.
According to Ukrainian authorities, there are soldiers who have gone missing and may have been taken captive by Russia or perished in battle, but their remains have not been located or identified. Both Ukraine and Russia have been reticent to disclose the number of soldiers who have been killed or are unaccounted for during the year-long conflict. Throughout the conflict, the two sides have engaged in multiple prisoner exchanges. On April 18th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that over 2,200 soldiers have been successfully released. In the most recent exchange, which took place during the Orthodox Easter, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged several hundred prisoners. The returned Ukrainian prisoners consisted of military personnel, border guards, national guard members, and sailors.
