Russian authorities received 48,000 requests for DNA tests to search for missing soldiers

The Russian Interior Ministry has received 48,000 requests for DNA tests from relatives of missing soldiers, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anna Tsivilyova revealed at a roundtable discussion held in Russia’s State Duma on 26 November, footage of which was only published by the ASTRA Telegram channel on Wednesday.

All men enlisting in the Russian military now submit a DNA test, Tsivilyova, who is reportedly the daughter of Vladimir Putin’s first cousin, said.

“We also take DNA from relatives, they give it to us for free … and we add them to the database. A total of 48,000 relatives have applied,” Tsivilyova added.

Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, responded to Tsivilyova’s estimate by warning colleagues that “sensitive information” such as missing person figures must not appear in official reports.

Tsivilyova rushed to save face, telling Kartapolov: “I didn’t give a missing person figure, just the number of appeals we received,” assuring attendees that “many” soldiers will be found by their relatives.

It is not clear from Tsivilyova’s statement whether the 48,000 appeals were from relatives of missing soldiers or from relatives of Russian servicemen currently fighting in Ukraine, ASTRA pointed out.

The outlet noted, however, that ASTRA had previously been told by soldiers’ families that only immediate relatives of soldiers formally declared missing in action could submit a request for a DNA test to be carried out, but it conceded that different rules could apply in certain Russian regions.

Footage from the meeting, which was transmitted live, has not been uploaded to the Duma website, independent media outlet IStories pointed out, suggesting that Tsivilyova’s comments had indeed been indiscreet.

The Russian Defence Ministry has never given an official number of Russian soldiers missing in action since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while the official data on casualties has been incredibly scarce, with the last available death toll — 5,937 Russians soldiers killed — announced by former Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu over two years ago, in September 2022.

Researchers from BBC News Russian and independent media outlet Mediazona have to date managed to confirm the deaths of over 74,000 Russian troops in Ukraine using open-source intelligence, the outlets reported in October, while The Wall Street Journal estimated in September that roughly 1 million troops from both sides had been killed or wounded in total.