More than 16,000 wanted cases on missing persons have been opened in the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS).

"As of now, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society has opened 16,190 wanted cases... Currently, work on 1,669 cases has been completed, 1,148 of them have a positive result. Work on 14,521 cases continues," the URCS reported on Facebook.

The employees and volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society on the restoration of family ties conduct the initial interview of applicants and draw up applications for missing persons. They also maintain constant contact with families who have opened a missing persons case with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and provide them with support. Representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society also provide psychosocial support to families of missing persons and interact with state bodies authorized to search for missing persons. In addition, volunteers organize and conduct social events and provide families with humanitarian or financial assistance. This activity is implemented with the support of the British Red Cross.

"As part of the humanitarian support for families who opened a missing person case in our organization, 3,647 families from vulnerable categories received humanitarian assistance," the Ukrainian Red Cross Society noted.

To open a missing person case, family members of the missing persons must call the Ukrainian Red Cross hotline: 0 800 332 656, or send an email to the following address: [email protected]. When applying, it is necessary to indicate the essence of the issue, the full name of the wanted person and your own, as well as a personal phone number so that an employee of the Tracing Service can contact the requester.

By opening search cases, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society fulfills the organization's special mandate, defined in the Geneva Conventions, additional protocols thereto and international Vita treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada. The Law on the Ukrainian Red Cross Society defines the organization's supporting role to state authorities in humanitarian activities during armed conflicts, in peacetime, in case of natural disasters and emergencies.

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society also recalled that the Register of Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, as of February this year, contained 62,948 cases.