Reintegration Ministry initiates audit of lists of captives in Russia

KYIV. Feb 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine initiates an audit of the lists of civilians that are being held hostage in Russia.

“These lists are formed according to the database of state agencies, institutions, public and international organizations, which, within their own powers, take into account civilian Ukrainians who fell into the hands of the aggressor state. In Ukraine, the register of civilian hostages of the Russian Federation is maintained by the National Information Bureau under the Ministry of Reintegration,” the ministry’s press service said.

According to the statement, as of today, 963 civilian hostages have been registered in Ukraine.

“However, it is obvious that there are many more such people – both those who were captured before February 24, 2022, and those who became hostages already with the start of a full-scale Russian invasion,” the ministry said.

The Ministry of Reintegration stressed that the audit of the lists of civilian hostages is aimed at clarifying the amount of data on Ukrainian civilians in captivity.

“We are starting this check with the aim of a complete, high-quality and proper accounting of all Ukrainians illegally detained by the aggressor state during the nine years of the war,” the press service quoted Head of the National Information Bureau Oleksandr Smirnov as saying.