Finding Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity is hard - and there is no formal way to secure their release.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/8789542

According to the Ukrainian government, as of November 2023 there were 4,337 Ukrainians in Russian captivity. Most were military personnel, but 763 were civilians. However, there is no official list of their names and Ukrainian authorities rely on data from the Red Cross.

The Red Cross can’t always gain access to the places where Ukrainians are held in Russia, let alone in the occupied territories where unofficial detention facilities can include basements in hotels and abandoned buildings. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets says that the figure could be much higher, with a total number of missing civilians estimated at 25,000.