Missing, but do not forget: Ukrainian families are looking for AI supported

Missing, but do not forget: Ukrainian families are looking for AI supported

"Hello, mom. Everything is fine. I will probably be offline for a long time, maybe a week or a month. Don't worry."

That was the last message that Nazar Ocheretnyi sent his mother on March 30, 2022. Almost three years later, he still has not reported. The Ukrainian paramedic disappeared into Mariupol, the eastern Ukrainian city, which was besieged at the time during one of the bloodiest chapters of war against Ukraine.

missing person reports and the desperate search

On April 12, 2022, Ocheretnyi's mother, Valentyna Ocheretnaya, was officially informed that her son is considered missing in action, possibly captured. Despite the tireless search of her 61-year-old mother, he will not be confirmed as dead until March 2025.

Ocheretnyi is one of almost 60,000 military and civilians who are considered missing under special circumstances and are recorded in the Georgian uniform register. However, the actual number could be far higher.

The reality of warfare

"If the person is in the register, there are two main versions - the person is either in Russian captivity or they are dead," explains Artur Dobroserdov, representative for missing people under special circumstances. The longer the war lasts, the more difficult it becomes for the Ukrainian government to find those who have been captured or killed.

The way in which the war is waged has also changed since 2022. Both armies now use drones extensively, which makes it increasingly difficult to pick up the corpse from the front. For this reason, Russia and Ukraine regularly exchange corpses. Since the beginning of the comprehensive invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has brought more than 7,000 corpses back.

DNA tests and identification processes

At the last return, on February 14th, Ukraine brought the corpse of 757 soldiers home. But for the relatives it was not the moment when they could bury their lover according to the Ukrainian traditions.

"I will tell you the bitter truth. You have to be lucky enough to find and bury your relatives," says a comment on a social network about missing soldiers.

The identification of missing persons among the remnants backed is a lengthy and complex process. Often the remains consist only of fragments of corpses, says Dobroserdov - mutilated, fragmented, decayed or burned.

experts report that sometimes, but not often, bodies are brought back to their identity with indications. However, this information must be checked. There were cases in which a name was assigned to a body, but after a DNA test it turned out that it was a completely different person.

technological progress in identification

Even if relatives recognize a fallen soldier, a DNA test is still required for final identification. This is particularly important for return actions, said Dobroserdov, since the remains brought back from several people.

"We remove a DNA sample and create a DNA profile. We only release the body when we have all examined from this return. Because you cannot create an identification, bury a person and then find further remains," said DobroserDov, whereby there were cases in which the remains of a body provided at different times at different times were.

If the missing person should not have relatives, experts also analyze the personal objects left behind-especially those who had direct contact with the skin-to search for a DNA comparison.

fascinating possibilities of facial analysis

In order to accelerate the search, the Ukrainian authorities turn to progressive technologies. On February 20, the National Police of Ukraine posted computer-generated pictures of five non-identified men who had fallen in use on social media.

"If you recognize someone who is missing due to the war or know people looking for them, please contact us," said the message. This was the first time that the Ukrainians use 3D reconstruction techniques for this purpose.

"We test the technology for restoring the facial features of non -identified corpses based on the skull shape and available genomic information," said Khrystyna Podyriako, head of the National Police Department. This enables the restoration of distinguishing features such as hair and skin color, face shape and valued age.

The Ukrainians also use facial recognition software from western partners and searches in databases, social media and on the Internet. A used tool is the Clearview AI application, which enables users to recognize faces of photos published in social networks and helped researchers to identify missing soldiers who are in captivity.

joint efforts by families

According to Dobroserdov, Russia does not always lead precise lists of prisoners of war, which means that the Ukrainians have to find and identify many of the people who are in captivity.

CNN was granted rare access to one of the facilities for facial recognition in Kiev, where a team of four people are looking for pictures of prisoners who appear in Russian telegram channels or media, and tries to identify them. This work requires special attention; Dozens of soldier photos can be seen on computer screens. If the team finds a match, the soldier's family will be notified that their relative is probably in captivity.

To support the government's efforts, the Ukrainians unite in so -called “family armies”, who are looking for references to the missing in Russian television stations, social media and news videos. Families often carry out their own investigations. Ocheretnaya has learned from at least three different people that her son, the paramedic, was seen in Russia in captivity.

Hope for return

"Everything is right with what the eyewitnesses say. They recognized him based on his photo, his call name and told me where and what kind of tattoo he had. A man said that Nazar had gave him associations on his arm for two weeks after the Russians had burned a tattoo with the Ukrainian emblem of his body," reports Ocheretnaya.

She learned from three places where Ocheretnyi was probably seen: in the Russian regions of Volgograd and Sacha and in the Olenivka prison in the Donetsk region occupied by Russia. She passed on all information collected to the Ukrainian authorities and the International Committee from the Red Cross. But her son is not on an official Russian list.

ocheretnaya also made your DNA available, but no match was found. "That means he lives; I know. Maybe he is in a prison where you have not yet released the prisoners, so that his name is nowhere to be found," she said.

In the past three years, Ocheretnaya has visited many meetings with relatives of missing people and almost attended almost every Telegram group in which they are talked about. She contacted everyone from Ocheretnyis Brigade and continues to look for him everywhere.

"I have an old video of him in which he drives, jokes and laughs with other boys. I watch this video several times a day. I know every second, every eye movement, every hand movement," says Ocheretnaya.

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj has repeatedly said that Ukraine is ready for an “all-against-all” exchange. If Russia would release all Ukrainian prisoners that it imprisoned, that would be a good step towards peace.

Ocheretnaya awaits like thousands of other Ukrainian families.

"I really ask God to bring my son back to me. I don't need anything else. Just bring him back," she said.