DONETSK, December 24. /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) is ready to accept biological samples for DNA profiling from residents of Ukraine whose relatives went missing during the conflict in Donbass, DPR Human Rights Commissioner Darya Morozova has said.
"We call upon all Ukrainian families, whose relatives went missing in the zones of armed conflict in Donbass, to submit biological samples <…> for further molecular genetic testing on the DPR territory. The procedure is carried out on humanitarian basis (free of charge), on a written request from a missing person’s relative," she said.
"Once again, I stress that our initiative is of purely humane and humanitarian nature. We sincerely want to help those who had to face the tragedy of not knowing where their loved ones are, and we will not stop until the fate of all people sought by their loved ones on both sides of the line of contact is established," the official continued.
In her words, the Ukrainian side has been ignoring all initiatives related to search of missing persons for seven years. Moreover, the Kiev government turned down a roadmap on the issue, proposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Morozova went on to say that relatives of missing persons have to stage public protests to draw the authorities’ attention to their problem, but to no avail.
"I understand the families of missing persons very well, I understand their pain and indignation. In fact, the Ukrainian government’s inaction exacerbates their pain and suffering. What is worse, the government has taken this stance deliberately," she added.
Interdepartmental working groups to search for burial sites were established in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on July 20 and in the Donetsk People’s Republic on August 6.
After the government coup in Ukraine in February 2014 and the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich the east of the country with its mostly Russian-speaking population saw mass protests. The authorities in Kiev reacted in the middle of April with a military operation in Donbass. Massive artillery bombardments and air bombing raids against residential areas caused a humanitarian disaster in the region. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as of January 31, 2021 the armed conflict had left 13,000 people killed and more than 30,000 injured on both sides.
Since the beginning of the armed conflict, as many as 4,994 people, including 91 children have been killed in the DPR, said Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). In turn, LPR head Leonid Pasechnik estimates the number of killed or missing persons in the republic at around 2,000.