Ukraine's project "Khochu naiti" (I want to find) has helped to locate 588 missing Russian soldiers since its launch in January, as reported on the service's Telegram channel on Aug. 5.
Some 533 of the Russian soldiers were found alive among prisoners of war (POW), and 100 of them had already been released to Russia as a part of a prisoner exchange.
Fifty-five were identified as deceased. The remains of 33 of them were handed over to Russia.
The service said it had received 20,098 requests from relatives of Russian soldiers since the start of the year.
The project was launched in January by Ukraine's POW Coordination Headquarters as a sign of Ukraine's commitment to the principles of international humanitarian law, its website reads.
"Russian officials do not properly communicate with the relatives of soldiers. No one informs the families about what happens to Russian Army servicemen after they end up as invaders and occupiers in Ukraine," Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said when presenting the project.
"(The project) concerns the missing soldiers, POWs, and those killed."
In September 2022, Ukraine's POW Coordination Headquarters launched the project "Khochu Zhit" (I want to live) with the support of the Defense Ministry and military intelligence.
The project was created for Russian and Belarusian service members to surrender as prisoners of war voluntarily.
The spokesperson for the "Khochu Zhyt" project said on March 31 that they receive 50 to 100 appeals from Russian soldiers and their relatives every day.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
