The number of missing persons documented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the Ukraine conflict has reached 50,000, and the figures only continue to grow.

The head of ICRC Central Tracing Agency Bureau (CTA-B) for the Ukraine conflict, Dusan Vujasanin, told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

“Since February 2024, the number of open cases of missing persons (people who are searched for by their families) is more than doubled, reaching almost 50,000 today. This number sadly continues to rise,’’ Vujasanin said.

He added that since 2024, the number of monthly requests had increased from about 1,000 per month to 5,000 in recent months.

Vujasanin said that it could be explained by families getting more information on possible ways to contact the ICRC.

The ICRC opened the Central Tracing Agency Bureau for issues related to the Ukraine conflict in Geneva in March, 2022.

The bureau served as a neutral intermediary between the parties to the conflict.

It collects, systematises and transmits information on the fate and whereabouts of service people and civilians missing or separated from their families.

In February 2024, head of Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Valery Fadeyev, held a meeting with an ICRC delegation.

The parties discussed issues of humanitarian cooperation with regard to the conflict and agreed on continued cooperation, exchange of information and mutual support.

(RIA/NAN)