Families of missing Ukrainians seek answers: ‘Have the most precious gift’

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  Wessel de Jong

  reporter, now in Ukraine

After almost three years of war, at least 40,000 people are missing in Ukraine, mostly soldiers. Family members are really looking out for them. In their desperation, they sometimes become easy prey for scammers and the Russian secret service.

“We are the women of the 71st Airborne Brigade. “We represent our missing loved ones. We are looking for them, but so far without results. No one is saying anything about this brigade.”

Bratkivska is looking for her husband Sergej. He got lost at the front, that’s all she knows. “It feels like I’ve been burned, I just forgot to die. “

A group of about twenty women gather in front of the police headquarters in the center of Kyiv, which also houses the missing persons department of the Ministry of Interior. These are mothers, partners and sisters. They are all looking for soldiers who were needed to fight in the same brigade.

Svetlana Krivosheeva is looking for her husband, who has been missing for five months in the Donbas region. That’s all she knows. “I’ve written everywhere, we’re going everywhere, to shows. We’re researching and hoping we’ll get him alive. Why will I live without my husband?” Krivosheeva says that she feels “with her heart” that her husband is still alive.

In the police station, the women sit in a courtroom-like room. The head of the missing persons department, Artoer Dobroserdov, sits behind a tall counter heavy with several assistants. The brigade commander is also present via internet connection.

The atmosphere is tense. The leader is insulted. He explains that sometimes his unit had to withdraw, not being able to take the wounded or killed with them.

The women are not protected: “It happens that a grenade hits directly into a bunker. Then there is nothing left of anyone and everything is buried.” In other words, some in the room will be waiting forever for an answer.

Despite the tense atmosphere, the head of the missing persons department is calm. After that, Dobroserdov explains that this meeting was helpful for him. Because it is often very different, with screaming and crying. The head of the department understands this: “These women gave the most valuable thing they have and therefore they want an answer.

Dobroserdov also offers hope. He says that around 700 missing people have already been identified using new facial recognition techniques. Four former police officers search Russian social media channels for photos of fallen Ukrainian soldiers and prisoners.

These are gruesome sites where Russian soldiers “brag” about their achievements on the battlefield. Horrific images are also posted to incite Ukrainians, Dobroserdov believes. “Let them go to the front to defend Ukraine.”

In the meantime, these images will be useful. “We’re finding out who’s on it,” he continued. The researchers compare the images posted by the Russians with photos provided by the families. Ukrainian soldiers can be identified using advanced methods from the American FBI, among others.

Dobroserdov warns women not to reveal too many personal details on obscure search sites that promise nothing. Because there are often scammers behind it who try to extract money from them in exchange for more information about their husbands.

The Russian intelligence services are trying to blackmail the women, says Dobroserdov: “The enemy treats the families. In exchange for information, they make demands. For example, the families must provide information about our soldiers, where they are, where their equipment is. Yes.”

Moscow is pressing for information about prisoners of war and Ukrainian prisoners. The Russians are doing this on purpose, says Solomiya Choma from the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. “They are trying to raise dissatisfaction with the government so that it is under pressure to end the war.”

The women of the 71st Brigade are not discouraged. To show their dedication, they lovingly kiss the brigade’s wine red flag. The women will also wear a shirt of the same color, with the text: ‘We will fight for them, because they fought for us’.