Approximately three thousand soldiers went missing in battles with Wagner forces on the Bakhmut front

Ahead of the International Day of the Disappeared, civil society organizations and the families of missing soldiers held a briefing to discuss the fate of three thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who went missing in action during battles against the Wagner PMC on the Bakhmut front.

Olena Belyachkova, a coordinator of the families of POWs and missing persons groups at the Media Initiative for Human Rights, spoke about this during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“The complexity of the search stems from the fact that several Armed Forces of Ukraine units were deployed against the Wagner PMC on the Bakhmut front. These include the 17th Tank Brigade and the 30th, 56th, and 58th Brigades. Additionally, the Wagnerites are a unique enemy category – they kept their own records of the dead and captured. There is a separate negotiation group for prisoner exchanges. When the Wagner forces withdrew from their positions and handed over some of our soldiers for exchange, this group was insufficient to confirm that all of our soldiers had been returned. This is why the families of these soldiers are constantly seeking new ways to find out what happened to the military personnel,” she explained.

According to relatives, information about missing soldiers must be sought separately and is difficult to obtain. The Ukrainian side cannot trust the Wagnerites, as they often falsely report that captured Ukrainian defenders have been killed.

“Currently, our soldiers who were held captive by Wagner forces are returning home. The more who return, the sooner we will be able to determine the location of the remaining defenders,” said Belyachkova.

Furthermore, the families of soldiers missing in action against the Wagner PMC have no clarity regarding the fate of the fallen. The russian side does not provide information on whether bodies were collected from the battlefield for repatriation.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news