Russian families struggle to find missing soldiers amid chaos
Last year, the number of complaints to the Russian Ombudsman more than doubled compared to 2023. Out of 68,000 applications, 35,000 involved the search for missing soldiers or the return of the bodies of those who died in the war. The Russian administration admits it has trouble locating its soldiers.
Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian Human Rights Commissioner, reported that in 2024 her office received over 68,000 complaints from citizens and domestic and international institutions. Among these, over 35,500 were related to the search for participants in the "special military operation," their release from captivity, the return of bodies, or the evacuation of Russian citizens from Ukrainian territory.
The figures officially provided by Moskalkova, although large, may be underestimated.
The commissioner, who took office in 2016, was suspected from the start of acting more in the Kremlin's interests than in those of the citizens. Her efforts to build an independent position were certainly not helped by her many years in law enforcement, mainly within the Ministry of Internal Affairs structures, where she earned the rank of police general.
Applications to the commissioner were mainly submitted by family members of Russian soldiers, but also by residents of border regions and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They complained that the army is unable to determine what happened to the soldiers and about residents of the Kursk region who were either evacuated in an unknown direction or remained in areas occupied by Ukrainians.
Some questions involved accelerating the determination of payments for bodily injuries and deaths, timely payment of full monetary benefits, as well as medical leave and directing soldiers to the military medical commission. The Russian administration is struggling with the record-keeping of both civilians and soldiers.
The army doesn't care about the missing
The International Committee of the Red Cross reported at the end of 2024 that 50,000 Russian soldiers are considered missing. Additionally, the average monthly number of soldiers lost in this way has increased more than fourfold over the last 12 months. Most of them are probably dead. The Russians have significant problems with evacuating the wounded and simply leave the dead on the battlefield.
Many considered missing are those who deserted or were subjected to vigilante justice within their units. Those who died in accidents or were killed in drunken brawls are also often registered as missing.
The army does not care about soldiers vanishing without a trace, let alone informing families. Hence, the scale of applications submitted to the commissioner's office. Growing dissatisfaction and the report published by Moskalkova forced the Kremlin to act in a Kremlin-like manner. Putin, as the "caring" father of the nation, instructed the Ministry of Defense to improve the mechanism for searching for the missing.
"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will present proposals to improve the system for searching soldiers missing during participation in the 'special military operation,' as well as support members of their families," reads the instructions published on the Kremlin's website. Officials have been given until April 1 of the current year to complete the task.
Missing civilians - whoever saw, whoever knows
Moskalkova's report also included cases of missing Russians who remained in areas occupied by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. It turned out that Russian authorities are not fully aware of how many people remained there and how many were evacuated to Ukraine. The Red Cross provided such data, but nobody registered them, so all inquiries directed to the regional authorities by relatives went unanswered.
Families learned about the status of specific individuals from Ukrainians, who allowed civilians in the areas they occupied to communicate almost without restrictions. In November last year, the first group of 46 residents from the Sudzha district in the Kursk region was sent back to Russia through the Red Cross. The first batch included seriously ill people and mothers with children.
However, approximately 2,000 people are still missing and their relatives cannot reach them. Most of them may still be in areas occupied by Ukrainians. They encourage Russians to contact them rather than Russian officials. They've been helping Russians find their relatives for over a year now, something the Russian authorities are unable to do.
Unexpected help from Ukraine
On January 9, 2024, Kyiv launched the state project "I Want to Find" that helps Russian families locate their loved ones who ended up on the Ukrainian front and are considered missing. Within a year, Ukrainians received over 52,000 applications from relatives of Russian soldiers, about whom nothing is known, through an online form.
This is a huge scale. For comparison, the International Committee of the Red Cross received 43,000 requests for help locating missing persons—both military and civilian—since March 2022. In the case of "I Want to Find," only soldiers are being searched for.
For as many as 19,000 people, the last known location was the Donetsk region, and for 3,000, the place of disappearance was in the Russian Federation's territory, including regions like Bryansk and Rostov where no military actions occurred.
In one year, Ukrainians managed to determine the fates of 1,659 Russian soldiers. Of these, 1,173 are alive and in captivity, and 89 were killed. The rest were sent back to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.
Russians searching for their loved ones emphasize on social media that it is easier to apply and obtain information via the Ukrainian system than through the Russian Ministry of Defense. Hence, the enormous scale of complaints that even Russian propaganda could not conceal. However, Russians believe that now that the "good czar" himself is addressing the issue, their problems will be resolved.
