MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. Ukraine’s government has approved the procedure of collecting biomaterial from prisoners of war to establish genomic information, Taras Melnichuk, the government’s representative to the Verkhovna Rada (national parliament), said on Friday.

"Pursuant to part 6 of article 9 of the Ukrainian law on state registration of human genome information, the procedure of collecting biological material from prisoners of war and sending it out for molecular and genetic study in order to establish and store genomic information has been approved," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Melnichuk, the issue of taking bio samples from prisoners has been settled, with those responsible for taking such samples, the timeframe of the procedure, as well as the terms and duration of their storage already determined.

No further details were given.

In November 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed law 2391-IX on the state registration of genomic information, which provides for mandatory registration of genomic information of suspects in grave crimes and those convicted. The law gives the Ukrainian Security Service the right to identify persons with the use of DNA samples and to collect and store bio material.