Laboratories in Kiev overwhelmed, thousands of soldiers' bodies remain unidentified

For more than a year, Anastasiia Zvietkova has not known whether her husband Yaroslav is still alive or whether he is one of the thousands of war victims. He disappeared during the fighting near Pokrovsk, where the front line is constantly shifting. Russia does not provide any information about prisoners or fallen soldiers, and the family waits in vain for news from comrades or the Red Cross.

Since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, at least 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been reported missing. In the past four months alone, more than 7,000 mostly unidentified bodies have been brought to Ukraine.

Forensic laboratories in Kyiv and other cities are therefore working at full capacity. However, the identification process is lengthy, especially when the bodies are dismembered or burned. DNA matching sometimes takes dozens of attempts.

The Interior Ministry has already increased the number of DNA laboratories from nine to twenty and now employs more than 450 geneticists. Nevertheless, identification can take up to 14 months.

(reuters, est)