Geneva, 19 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - At least 23,000 people are missing in Ukraine and their fate is unclear, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in Geneva on Monday.

They may have been arrested or abducted or died - or relatives lost track of each other when fleeing the conflict, the ICRC said.

By the end of January, the ICRC had helped 8,000 Russian and Ukrainian families obtain information about the fate or whereabouts of their missing relatives, the organization reported.

"Not knowing what happened to a loved one is excruciating, and this is the tragic reality for tens of thousands of families who live in a state of constant anguish," said the ICRC's Dusan Vujasanin.

"Families have the right to know what happened to their relatives and, when possible, to exchange news with them," added Vujasanin, who heads the ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency Bureau (CTA-B).

The ICRC quoted a family member searching for relatives as saying: "I have no more tears, only pain, and my heart is breaking."

The ICRC established a Missing Persons Search Office in March 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It helps families on both sides of the conflict.

According to the Geneva Conventions, which apply worldwide, parties involved in conflicts are obliged to collect and exchange information about prisoners. The ICRC is the neutral mediator between the two.

The Geneva Conventions are intended to protect people who are not or no longer involved in hostilities. They are the core of international humanitarian law.

Photo: MIA archive