Delegates from 50 military units joined the discussion on systemic issues
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine hosted a second meeting with coordinators representing families of missing, captured, and deceased service members. Delegates from 50 military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine joined the talks. Participants addressed roughly 50 issues grouped into five main categories. This is reported by the portal PromPolitInform, citing information from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
Representatives from the Air Assault Forces, Navy, Unmanned Systems Forces Command, and Territorial Defence Forces of the ZSU attended the event. Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Liubov Halan stated that the dialogue aims to identify recurring problems within military units and develop solutions.
Participants focused on searching for the missing, unit interaction with relatives, interagency cooperation, digitalisation, body identification, and financial support payments. Due to inquiries regarding the operational subordination of units, the defence ministry plans to release dedicated guidelines for families.
International Aid and Legal Framework Changes
The defence ministry secured an agreement with international partners for the free delivery of over 600,000 DNA test kits for biological sample collection. These supplies will fully cover the requirements of the Armed Forces for 2027–2028. Military units are now required to log DNA collection for orphaned personnel to facilitate identification upon body repatriation.
Amendments to Ministry of Defence Order No. 280 entered into force on 30 October 2026, standardising the date deceased personnel are removed from active rolls. For service members previously listed as missing or captured, the official date of removal is now the day the death was officially registered.
“The Ministry of Health presented an action plan: to create proper body storage conditions, set up dedicated areas with refrigerated units, and address staffing requirements,” stated Liubov Halan following a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
Digital Services and Family Rights Support
The Ministry of Defence is drafting legal changes enabling the status update of service members from ‘missing’ to ‘captured’ based on extracts from the Coordination Headquarters database. Working alongside the Military Ombudsman, officials are reviewing cases where missing or fallen soldiers were mistakenly marked as absent without leave.
Officials are also developing a mechanism for digital submission of personal estate directions instead of paper filings. Work has resumed on draft law No. 13427, which covers financial support allocation to adult children under 23, alongside streamlined protocols for returning personal belongings of the fallen.
Photo: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
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