The joint efforts of National Police specialists, experts from the National Forensic Science Center, and forensic medical institutions are aimed at ensuring that no Ukrainian soldier remains unidentified, and that families receive reliable information and are able to bury their loved ones with honors.
In Zakarpattia, systematic, painstaking, and extremely important work is underway to identify fallen Ukrainian servicemen whose bodies were returned to territory controlled by Ukraine as part of state repatriation efforts. The region’s top specialists in this field are involved in the process.
The Main Directorate of the National Police in the Zakarpattia region provided an update on the progress of activities under the nationwide initiative “Restore Their Names.”
How the process of identifying fallen soldiers is proceeding
Police investigators, forensic specialists, experts from the Transcarpathian Scientific Research Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (NRFC), and forensic medical experts are working together to establish each individual’s identity. The work is carried out in accordance with strict international forensic standards and involves several mandatory stages:
- Thorough documentation of identifying features: specialists describe in detail and photograph all available individual anatomical and identifying features;
- Collection of physical evidence: fragments of military equipment, insignia, dog tags, documents, and personal belongings that may help establish affiliation with a military unit or specific subunit are examined and documented;
- DNA analysis: Biological samples are collected for subsequent forensic molecular genetic analysis and comparison of the resulting profiles with a unified DNA database of relatives of missing-in-action defenders.
The goal of the initiative is to honor every hero with dignity
The main objective of the nationwide humanitarian and investigative initiative “Restore the Name” is to ensure that no defender of Ukraine who gave his life for the country’s freedom remains unidentified.
Thanks to the coordinated and highly professional work of forensic experts and investigators, the families of servicemembers—who have long endured the agonizing uncertainty—receive official confirmation of their loved ones’ fates and are able to lay their heroes to rest with dignity, with full military honors, see their heroes off on their final journey.
Source: Main Directorate of the National Police in Zakarpattia Oblast.
