Ukraine’s first Centre for Tracing Persons Missing in Special Circumstances – during hostilities and in the temporarily occupied territories – was opened in Zaporizhzhia. The centre was opened at the initiative of the National Police of Ukraine and with the support of Metinvest Group and Zaporizhstal.
The Centre for Tracing Persons Missing in Special Circumstances was opened on December 28. Its main goal is to improve the effectiveness of investigative and search work and to establish constant communication between police officers and the families of missing persons.
The event was attended by Artem Kisko, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Police, Yuriy Malashko, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, Serhiy Spilnyk, Head of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Olena Oreshkina, Chief Specialist of the Department for Persons Disappeared in Special Circumstances of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and heads of expert institutions. Oleksandr Myronenko, Chief Operations Officer of Metinvest Group, also took part in the event.
“The most important is to bring all our people home. We combine our efforts and actively cooperate with all law enforcement agencies to make our work more effective. I am confident that this Centre will help in the search for missing persons during the hostilities and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” said Yuriy Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration.
Metinvest Group and Zaporizhstal provided support for the establishment of Ukraine’s first Centre for Tracing Persons Missing in Special Circumstances. Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest has been helping the country to defend its independence. The company systematically supports Ukrainian defenders with defence and combat equipment and implements large projects to provide humanitarian, psychological and other assistance to civilians. In addition, Metinvest is also documenting crimes committed by the russian federation by filing legitimate claims to the European Court of Human Rights.
“This Center is extremely necessary for recording and investigating crimes against humanity committed by russian troops against Ukrainians on Ukrainian territory. The civilized world should know what sacrifices our people are making because of this unmotivated war launched against Ukraine. That’s why Metinvest and Zaporizhstal supported the arrangement of this Centre in Zaporizhzhia. Unfortunately, this Centre will have a lot of work to do in establishing truth and justice in crimes against Ukrainians, but it shall be done out of respect for people and the law,” Oleksandr Myronenko stated.
More than 40 police officers will work in the Centre for Tracing Missing Persons, including investigators, criminal police officers, cyber police officers and criminalists.
“The search for missing persons is an issue that requires new approaches to resolve. The experience we have already gained allows us to effectively conduct search operations and establish the fate of our civilians and defenders. We collect all criminal proceedings and operational and investigative cases that are under the jurisdiction of the police in our region and other areas here to ensure that we can carry out high-quality search activities in communication with specialists,” said Artem Kisko.
Law enforcement officers will interview citizens who have reported missing persons, and collect and process all the information to establish the possible location of the missing persons – whether they are in captivity, abroad or have died. In particular, the centre will be used to take DNA samples from biological relatives of the missing persons and subsequently to order forensic examinations.
In case you have lost contact with your relatives and friends who remained in the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region or lived or stayed in areas near the line of battle contact, please contact the territorial police units or call: 095-450-41-86 and in WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, Signal messengers at the specified number.