Ukraine has confirmed that 32 previously missing soldiers are being held captive by Russia
Officially confirmed information regarding the captivity of 32 servicemembers of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in Russia has been entered into the Unified Register of Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances.
Previously, all of them were considered missing in action.
“All of them went missing in 2026: 16 in the Donetsk sector and 16 in the Kharkiv sector. The oldest among the servicemen whose captivity has been officially confirmed was born in 1962, and the youngest in 1998,” the statement reads.
Artur Dobroserdov noted that 12 of the 32 servicemen had previously been officially considered missing in action, as there was no information in the Unified Register regarding their captivity.
As for the other 20 servicemembers, information about their possible captivity in Russia had previously been obtained from other sources. In particular, the information was verified using OSINT—the search for and analysis of data from open sources.
This information has now been officially confirmed and entered into the relevant records.
“The lack of confirmed information today does not mean that efforts to verify it have ceased,” emphasized Artur Dobroserdov.
According to the commissioner, data on missing persons received from various sources is carefully verified and cross-checked.
Once properly confirmed, the information is entered into the Unified Register of Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances.
This approach makes it possible to officially update the status of military personnel for whom there was previously no reliable information regarding their whereabouts.
The families of service members are to receive official notification confirming their captivity in each specific case.
Notification may be provided through the National Information Bureau, which coordinates with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), directly through the ICRC, or via the personal account on the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War’s website.
Thus, the status of 32 Ukrainian servicemembers who went missing in 2026 has now been officially confirmed as being held in Russian captivity.
Efforts to determine the whereabouts of other missing servicemen are ongoing.
This was announced by Artur Dobroserdov, the Commissioner for Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances.
As a reminder, near Vovchansk, Mykola Shipulin, a soldier of the 1st Battalion of the 113th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, freed himself from Russian captivity while his hands were tied, eliminated the invaders, and rescued a wounded comrade.
Ukraine and Russia may carry out another major prisoner exchange in the near future. The head of the Office of the President, Kirill Budanov, stated that preparations for it are underway, but he did not specify the exact timing or the number of people they plan to repatriate.
