On Thursday, the Red Cross announced that it was working to determine the fate of nearly 50,000 people who have gone missing over the past three years due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also reported that it had received information about approximately 16,000 prisoners of war and civilians who had been detained by both Russia and Ukraine.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ICRC established a dedicated unit within its Central Tracing Agency (CTA) to search for missing individuals on both sides of the conflict.

"Since February 2024, the number of open cases of missing persons has more than doubled, reaching almost 50,000 today," CTA Bureau Chief Dusan Vujasanin informed reporters in Geneva that most of those missing were military personnel.

A year ago, the bureau announced that it was working to establish what had happened to around 23,000 individuals who had disappeared during the war. It aimed to determine whether they had been captured, killed, or had simply lost contact with their families after escaping their homes.

Vujasanin said Thursday that the bureau's work was aimed "to prevent disappearances, search for those who go missing and inform their families as soon as possible".

So far, both sides in the conflict have reported to the bureau that they have detained approximately 16,000 prisoners of war and civilians since the full-scale war began.

"This is not equal to the number of PoWs currently detained," Vujasanin noted that since the war began, several thousand prisoners had been freed.

The CTA bureau serves as a neutral mediator between the parties, facilitating the exchange of information about missing persons while actively participating in search efforts.

Vujasanin emphasised that a significant part of the Red Cross network collaborated to locate those who had disappeared.

Vujasanin disclosed, "Today, more than 80 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and ICRC delegations around the world are working together to support families looking for their missing loved ones in relation to the Russia–Ukraine armed conflict and provide them with answers as soon as possible."