The aftermath of war leaves lasting scars, not only in direct casualties but also in the uncertainty faced by families searching for missing loved ones.
As conflicts drag on, administrative and legal systems in affected countries often see a surge in requests to determine the fate of those who have vanished.
In Russia, the fallout from its ongoing invasion of Ukraine is manifesting in alarming legal trends.
A Drastic Rise in Missing Persons Cases
As reported by Digi24, Russian courts handled around 20,000 requests in 2024 to declare individuals dead or missing, a 2.5-fold increase from pre-war annual averages of approximately 8,000 cases.
This surge began in mid-2024 and is the first significant spike since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Many of these requests were reportedly filed by Russian military commanders. By declaring missing soldiers legally deceased without requiring family consent, commanders can remove them from unit rosters and recruit replacements.
This bureaucratic process leaves families without critical financial support or information about their loved ones.
Additionally, more than 50,000 inquiries have been submitted by Russians to the Ukrainian "I Want to Find" project, which helps track missing soldiers.
Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsiviliova revealed that 48,000 DNA testing requests were filed in 2024 by families seeking to identify missing soldiers.
Sensitive Data Kept Under Wraps
Despite the growing number of such cases, the Russian government remains tight-lipped about official casualty figures.
Independent estimates place Russian losses between 600,000 and 840,000 dead and wounded since the start of the invasion.
Meanwhile, Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee, emphasized the need to keep this information classified.
"These are sensitive matters," he warned, urging discretion in documenting casualty data.
The sharp rise in missing person declarations underscores the ongoing human cost of the war in Ukraine, leaving countless families in limbo as they await closure or answers.
