Finding missing persons and bringing home POWs: relatives of the 57th Brigade soldiers speak out

The Media Initiative for Human Rights organized a discussion on missing soldiers. The discussion was attended by the command of the 57th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade, as well as relatives of the missing and captured soldiers of this unit. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the 57th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade has been involved in the fiercest battles along the entire front line. The start of the full-scale war was particularly difficult for the brigade when many of its soldiers went missing or were captured, not least because of the lack of weapons.

For example, in the spring and summer of 2022, at least 120 servicemen of the 57th Separate Mechanized Brigade went missing in the Luhansk sector in the battles for Novotoshkivske and Toshkivka. However, the Red Cross confirmed the capture of only 12 soldiers. The fate of the rest is unknown. The territory where the fighting took place is still occupied, and it is impossible to get there to at least take the bodies of the dead.

Another 22 soldiers of this brigade went missing during the fighting in the Kherson sector. And in the battles near Bohdanivka near Bakhmut, the number of missing and captured soldiers is unknown. The brigade fought against the Wagnerites there.

Valentyn Zabolotnyi, deputy commander of the 57th Separate Mechanized Brigade, notes that the command constantly communicates with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Lists of missing persons are sent there. A hotline is available for the relatives of such soldiers. Commenting on the lack of complete lists of soldiers who went missing at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when the brigade suffered its first significant losses, Zabolotnyi says that some documents were lost. This happened when the brigade’s base in Lysychansk was burned down during the fighting.

Valentyn Zabolotnyi, deputy commander of the 57th Separate Mechanized Brigade, says the brigade is actively communicating with the families of missing and captured soldiers

“We are restoring this documentation,” says Zabolotnyi. “We are also constantly communicating with the families of the dead, captured and missing. In addition, we approach local governments to provide benefits and assistance to families whose members are in captivity. When we recapture territories from the enemy, we try to evacuate the bodies of all our fallen soldiers. We do everything we can and within our power.”

Representatives of the initiative groups of the 57th Brigade missing persons’ families — Maria Plaksiy, Lilia Lukianiuk, and Olena Zavalna — spoke about the circumstances of their relatives’ disappearance and what they are doing to find them and bring them back. Particular attention is paid to working internationally to find leverage over Russia. The latter, we recall, provides almost no information about captured Ukrainians, does not allow search groups to enter the occupied territories, and does not guarantee their safety in the gray zone. According to relatives, the primary sources of information about the missing soldiers are Russian telegram channels and testimonies of those who returned from captivity.

“It is a huge problem that we have no prisoners confirmed by the Russian side,” emphasizes Lilia Lukianiuk, “because it violates human rights because unconfirmed prisoners are deprived of the right to telephone communication, correspondence, and parcels. As for the exchange of bodies, it is prolonged.

Olena Zavalna, Liliia Lukianiuk, and Mariia Plaksii (from left), representatives of the families of missing and captured soldiers of the 57th Brigade

In turn, Maria Plaksiy called on the whole world to unite against Russia and solve the problem of returning missing persons and prisoners. We remind that the International Committee of the Red Cross should play a key role in confirming the lists of prisoners and the places and conditions of their detention. However, according to Maria Klymyk, a journalist and documentator of the MIHR who interviews former prisoners of war, only a few have seen its representatives. Usually, it happened in show cells, where prisoners were brought specifically for the ICRC’s demonstration. She also emphasizes that Russia conceals prisoners in every possible way, transports them from place to place, and does not provide them with proper conditions of detention.

Maria Klymyk, journalist of the MIHR, emphasizes that Russia is hiding captured Ukrainians

“Currently, there are about 38,000 missing persons in Ukraine,” says Klymyk. “These are military personnel and civilians. However, we cannot say this figure is final because Russia has not informed Ukraine precisely who it is holding. It is difficult to collect this information, and the relatives of the missing persons do a lot of this.

You can read the stories of missing and captured soldiers of the 57th Brigade here.

The MIHR would like to thank the families of the missing and captured soldiers of the 57th Brigade for participating in the discussion. We also thank the brigade command for not standing aside and publicly communicating on this challenging topic with families and the public. This approach is rare in times of war, and we are grateful for this cooperation.