Mothers of the Ukrainian military, who have gone missing in temporarily occupied territories, called on the authorities to create an international group to find their relatives. The organization should include representatives from different countries, since the militants of the so-called DNR and LNR do not allow for the search of either the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or searchers from the OSCE and the UN, not to mention the search group led by the Ministry of Defense. This was stated during a press conference by the head of the NGO All-Ukrainian Public Movement of Mothers and Relatives of the Anti-Terrorist Operation Participants “Berehinya” Alla Makukh.
She has also noted the important role of the volunteers and ATO veterans, including the members of UKROP, who are actively involved in the search for missing military.
“We are very grateful to UKROP for a long-term support and assistance in highlighting and resolving the issues of missing persons. But we hope that efforts on searching our guys on that side will be strengthened,” said Alla Makukh.
In addition, she urged the diplomats to raise questions about the search for missing persons at the level of negotiations in Minsk.
For her part, the mother of a captive soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, activist of Kryvyi Rih UKROP Olena Sugak has noted that there are many evidence of the fact that the Ukrainian soldiers are held captive by the militants. However, until now, the relatives have not been able to establish connection with them.
“We hope for the help not only of the SBU staff, but also of the Ministry of Defense, which until now had to deal with this problem,” said Olena Sugak.
As it is known, the activist’s son Ruslan Sugak has gone missing leaving the infamous green corridor in Ilovaisk. The soldier tripped a wire in one kilometer from the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Subsequently, Ruslan Sugak’s footprints were found at one of Donetsk hospital, from where he was taken to Rostov, and then forced to work in Luhansk. So far there is no connection with the father of two children.
At the same time, the head of the UKROP faction in Kryvyi Rih City Council, Head of the ATO Veterans Council of UKROP, Mykola Kolesnyk, has commented on the statement made by women, urging the relevant departments to report on what has been done for the search of missing persons.
According to the UKROP member, officials should make public the information on how many Ukrainians have already been found and the search for how many missing persons is still ongoing.
“Unfortunately, now the list is shortened only due to the coincidence of DNA and reburial from Dnipro and Zaporizhia. And the fact that this issue is not on the agenda in Minsk – is a big mistake, because it is not of less humanitarian importance than those that are already being discussed,” stressed Mykola Kolesnik.
It is to be recalled, the representatives of the political force, who participated in hostilities in the east of our country created the ATO Veterans Council of UKROP. Former and current fighters from all over Ukraine support the families of the military and facilitate the search for missing persons. They also help those who need rehabilitation.
