Over 7,000 Ukrainian service members considered missing, says ombudsman

Approximately 7,200 servicemen are considered missing in Ukraine as of July 11. These are fighters from various units, including border guards and special services, said Oleh Kotenko, the Government Commissioner for Missing Persons, in a comment to UA:PBC.

"If we are talking about the military, let's understand who the military are. There is the Armed Forces, there is the National Guard, there are border guards, there is the SBU. These are different institutions. They are not included in the figure given by the Armed Forces," the ombudsman noted.

According to him, the figure named by the Armed Forces of Ukraine stands at 2,000 soldiers. At the same time, the commissioner's call center received information about approximately 7,200 people.

"For example, the Azov regiment is the National Guard, and there are also missing persons there. They have not contacted their relatives since they left Azovstal," Kotenko explained.

According to him, most of the missing soldiers are in captivity. As an example, he cites the soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 36th Brigade.

"We know that they were taken to Russia. First, you need to understand how many people there are. If there are more than a hundred of them, then we understand that practically the entire battalion is in captivity," says the ombudsman.

Kotenko clarified that there is still no contact with these fighters, so they are considered missing. And he assures: sooner or later they will get on the list for exchange and return home. According to him, this is one of those cases when it is known for sure that the missing persons are alive.