Families of Missing Russian Soldiers Turn to Ukraines Hotline Amidst Ongoing Conflict

Families of 84,658 Russian soldiers who have gone missing have reached out to Ukraine for information about their relatives since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the exiled news organization Vyorstka.

Vyorstka examined information from the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War’s hotline, “I Want to Find,” which was established in January 2024. This hotline claims to be more effective in addressing the concerns of Russian military families compared to Russia’s Defense Ministry.

“Russia still lacks a dedicated agency responsible for managing issues related to prisoners of war, the missing, and the deceased, as well as for providing support to their families,» noted a project member who identified himself only as Alexander.

By April 2025, the hotline had handled over 58,000 inquiries, accounting for approximately two-thirds of all requests received. Families of 2,184 Russian soldiers confirmed that their loved ones had either been taken captive by Ukrainian forces or had lost their lives.

Personnel from “I Want to Find” assert that the actual number of missing Russian soldiers could be two to three times greater, as not all families have filed inquiries.

It’s estimated that over half of those unaccounted for are privates and sergeants under the age of 39, with only 1.5% identified as officers, according to Vyorstka’s findings.

Since 2022, the “I Want to Find” hotline has noted weekly surges in inquiries following significant battles. Three military units were particularly notable for their high numbers of missing persons requests, with allegations from soldiers and their families of mistreatment and sending troops into perilous situations.

Reports indicate that more than 27,600 soldiers have vanished in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, with over 6,600 missing in the adjacent Luhansk area. Additionally, around 4,300 soldiers are unaccounted for in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces conducted a surprise cross-border raid in August that Russian troops only managed to repel last month.

Over half of the inquiries were made by the soldiers’ wives and sisters, while only about 1% came from fathers.

Since late 2022, Russia has not revised its official casualty figures, which listed fewer than 6,000 combat fatalities.

An independent tally by Mediazona and BBC News Russia has recognized approximately 100,000 deceased Russian soldiers, identified through publicly accessible information.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed CBS News that up to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have also been killed since February 2022.