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Military operation in Ukraine

Red Cross receives 182,000 appeals about missing persons in Ukrainian conflict

According to spokeswoman Galina Balzamova, the actual number of families unaware of their relatives’ fate is higher, as not everyone contacts the ICRC directly

GENEVA, December 25. /TASS/. The number of missing persons appeals submitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) related to the conflict in Ukraine reached 182,000 as of the end of November, the committee’s spokeswoman Galina Balzamova told TASS.

"[From February 2022] to the end of November 2025, the ICRC received 182,000 appeals from families on both sides searching for missing relatives, both military personnel and civilians," she said in a written response to a TASS inquiry.

According to Balzamova, the actual number of families unaware of their relatives’ fate is higher, as not everyone contacts the ICRC directly. She noted that the committee has been able to provide information on the fate or whereabouts of missing relatives to nearly 16,000 families. In addition, during visits to prisoners of war, ICRC representatives relayed over 24,000 personal messages between POWs and their families.

The ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency Bureau for the conflict in Ukraine began operations in March 2022. It acts as a neutral intermediary, helping people on both sides in the search for missing loved ones.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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