"Once a month, we compile statistics on missing persons by oblasts, based on their registered place of residence," he noted.
As of December 2024, the highest number of missing persons was recorded in Donetsk Oblast, followed by Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv Oblasts.
According to Dobroserdov, 59,000 Ukrainians remain officially missing, with only 7,500 recognized as prisoners of war (POWs) by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
As of Jan. 1, 2025, search efforts for 9,255 people have been concluded, with 3,923 individuals found alive and 5,332 bodies identified.
Additionally, there are over 3,200 unidentified bodies now registered in official records.
Dobroserdov emphasized that monthly repatriation operations continue, involving the exchange of bodies between Ukraine and Russia.
"We return the bodies of Russian soldiers and receive the remains of our defenders," he said.
"This process continues steadily, without major interruptions. So far, we have managed to repatriate 5,500 bodies."
On Oct. 29, 2024, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Leonid Tymchenko, reported that more than 1,700 children have been listed as missing in Ukraine’s Unified Register of Missing Persons.