Russia's hidden casualties: A soaring count of missing soldiers

Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian Human Rights Commissioner, reported that in 2024 her office received over 68,000 complaints from citizens and domestic and international institutions. Among all applications, over 35,500 concerned the search for participants in the "special military operation," their release from captivity, the return of bodies, or the evacuation of Russian citizens from Ukrainian territory.

The figures officially provided by Moskalkova, although large, may be underestimated.

The commissioner, who took office in 2016, was from the start suspected of acting more in the interests of the Kremlin than citizens. Her efforts to build an independent position were certainly not aided by her many years working in law enforcement, mainly within the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she earned the rank of police general.

Applications to the commissioner were mainly submitted by family members of Russian soldiers, but also residents of border regions and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They complain that the army is unable to determine what happened to the soldiers and the residents of the Kursk region, who were either evacuated in an unknown direction or remained in areas occupied by Ukrainians.

Some requests were about speeding up the determination of compensation for bodily injuries and deaths, timely payment of full monetary benefits, as well as medical leave and directing soldiers to the military medical commission. The Russian administration is struggling with the record-keeping of both civilians and soldiers.

The International Committee of the Red Cross reported at the end of 2024 that 50,000 Russian soldiers are considered missing. Additionally, the average monthly number of soldiers lost this way has increased more than fourfold over the last 12 months. Most of them are probably dead. The Russians have significant problems with evacuating the wounded and simply leave the dead on the battlefield.

Many considered missing are those who deserted or were subjected to vigilante justice within the units. Those who died in accidents or were killed in drunken brawls are often also registered as missing.

The army does not care about soldiers vanishing without a trace, let alone informing families. Hence, the scale of applications submitted to the commissioner's office. Growing dissatisfaction and the report published by Moskalkova forced the Kremlin to act in a Kremlin-like manner. Putin, as the "caring" father of the nation, instructed the Ministry of Defence to improve the mechanism for searching for the missing.

"The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation will present proposals to improve the system for searching soldiers missing during participation in the 'special military operation,' as well as support members of their families," you can read in the instructions published on the Kremlin's website. Officials have been given until April 1 of the current year to complete the task.

Moskalkova's report also included the cases of missing Russians who remained in areas occupied by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. It turned out that Russian authorities are not fully aware of how many people remained there and how many were evacuated to Ukraine. Such data were provided by the Red Cross, but nobody registered them anywhere, so all inquiries directed to the regional authorities by relatives went unanswered.

Families learned about the status of certain individuals from Ukrainians, who allowed civilians in the areas they occupied to communicate almost without restrictions. In November last year, the first group of 46 residents from the Sudzha district in the Kursk region was sent back to Russia through the Red Cross. The initial group included seriously ill people and mothers with children.

However, approximately 2,000 people are still missing and their relatives cannot reach them. Most of them may still be in areas occupied by Ukrainians. They encourage Russians to contact them rather than Russian officials. They've been helping Russians find their relatives for over a year now, something the Russian authorities are unable to do.

On January 9, 2024, Kyiv launched the state project "I Want to Find" that helps Russian families locate their loved ones who ended up on the Ukrainian front and are considered missing. Within a year, Ukrainians received over 52,000 applications from relatives of Russian soldiers, about whom nothing is known, through an online form.

This is a huge scale. For comparison, the International Committee of the Red Cross received 43,000 requests for help locating missing persons—both military and civilian—since March 2022. In the case of "I Want to Find," only soldiers are being searched for.

For as many as 19,000 people, the last known location was the Donetsk region, and for 3,000, the place of disappearance was in the Russian Federation's territory, including regions like Bryansk and Rostov where no military actions occurred.

In one year, Ukrainians managed to determine the fates of 1,659 Russian soldiers. Of these, 1,173 are alive and in captivity, and 89 were killed. The rest were sent back to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.

Russians searching for their loved ones emphasize on social media that it is easier to apply and obtain information via the Ukrainian system than through the Russian Ministry of Defence. Hence, the enormous scale of complaints that even Russian propaganda could not conceal. However, Russians believe that now that the "good czar" himself is addressing the issue, their problems will be resolved.