More than 26,000 bodies returned to Ukraine, but many remain unidentified – Budanov

rss · Ukrinform 2026-10-02T18:28:00Z en
The process of identifying fallen defenders must be accelerated. The government will adopt all necessary regulatory and legal decisions in the near future. According to Ukrinform, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov announced this on Telegram. "Today, I chaired a meeting of the coordination council on protecting the rights of war veterans and their family members, family members of fallen defenders and defendresses of Ukraine, as well as on prisoners of war and missing persons. Together with my colleagues, we discussed solutions to accelerate the identification of fallen defenders. I am convinced that bureaucratic delays and violations of procedures in the forensic medical examination system are unacceptable," Budanov said. He noted that a specific action plan has now been developed. An interagency group will be established to address problematic issues related to the identification of the dead, the work of forensic medical examination bureaus will be reviewed, particularly in the regions, and additional international capabilities will be engaged to conduct DNA testing. The government will adopt all necessary regulatory and legal decisions in the near future, Budanov added. Read also: Ukraine continues identifying fallen soldiers in cases dating back to 2014 He also said that, as part of repatriation efforts, more than 26,000 bodies and remains have been returned to Ukraine, but a significant number of them remain unidentified. The identity of every fallen defender who gave their life for the country must be established and their name made known. This is a matter of state responsibility, Budanov said. As reported, Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi instructed officials to prepare a plan to improve the process of identifying the bodies of repatriated Ukrainians.
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