Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told a presidential coordination council that more than 26,000 bodies and remains have been returned to Ukraine, though a significant portion remain unidentified. Officials will create an interagency group and expand international DNA capacity to accelerate identification.
Ukraine has repatriated more than 26,000 bodies and human remains since the start of the full-scale invasion, but a substantial number have yet to be identified, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, reported at a meeting of the Coordination Council on the rights of veterans, families of the fallen, prisoners of war, and the missing. The council session was chaired by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
Budanov emphasized that families need answers about the fate of their relatives as quickly as possible. To speed up the process, authorities will establish an interdepartmental working group, audit the performance of regional forensic examination bureaus, and bring in additional international laboratory capacity for DNA testing.
"Families must receive information about the fate of their loved ones as soon as possible. Every fallen Hero will be found and duly honored," Budanov said. The measures aim to clear a backlog that has left thousands of families in limbo while forensic infrastructure struggles with the scale of casualties.
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