How number of missing persons changed before and during war – study by YouControl

YouControl has studied the Ministry of Internal Affairs' dataset called Information on Missing Persons on the number of people on a certain date with reference to their date of disappearance. They also analyzed the geography and statistics of disappearances before and after the full-scale invasion.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs data, as of 23 February 2022, 6,726 people have not been found in Ukraine, and as of 5 September 2023, the number of missing persons has increased 5-fold to 35,114.

Number of missing persons over the last 10 years

The statistics of missing persons as of September 2023 indicates two major peaks: in 2014, there were 756 missing persons, and in 2022 - 18,811.

The first peak of disappearances in 2014 can be attributed to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas. In 2022, the increase in the number of missing persons is likely to be related to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The largest number of missing persons is observed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in Kyiv. Based on data on the number of missing persons as of September 2023, Donetsk region has the highest number of 6,394. In the Luhansk region, 1,821 people went missing. As in the Donetsk region, this may be a result of increased military activity. Kyiv region also has a significant number of missing persons – 1,705. In particular, in the city of Kyiv there are 1,878 missing persons.

How to check if a person is missing?

In the Individuals module in YouControl, you can check any person using public information sources in the form of open data. After entering the full name, the analytical system will display information collected from official sources. In particular, how many records are found in the section Ministry of Internal Affairs check.

In addition to the surname, name and middle name, the profile will contain the following information: date of birth, date and place of disappearance, wanted status and photo if available from the source.

The fact that a person has gone missing and disappeared from the website only means that they are no longer being searched for. The documents of a missing person can be used for illegal purposes, often fraudulently. In order not to be deceived, pay attention to this factor when checking an individual in the YouControl information and analytical system. In addition, this functionality may also be required to verify individuals associated with a particular company (managers, chief accountants, participants and founders, etc.) to understand the possible risks of cooperation with such a counterparty.