“Where are they? The families of missing or imprisoned Ukrainian soldiers demonstrated this Monday in kyiv, denouncing the “silence” of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the military command.
About 200 protesters, mostly women, gathered in the center of the Ukrainian capital, then marched to a military barricade near Zelensky’s offices to demand a meeting with the president.
“Zelenski! Zelenski!” they chanted, some through tears, shouting their anger at the soldiers and police stationed there. “You are taking our men to the slaughterhouse,” one woman shouted. “Where are they? Give us our children back,” shouted another.
The war has already lasted 600 days and the Ukrainian counteroffensive is barely making any progress. Families complain about the lack of information they receive from the military command, which often refuses to speak with them. The various units in which their loved ones served mainly fight in the Donbass (east).
The Ukrainian president did not go down to meet with the protesters, but they were able to deliver letters to a representative of the Presidency.
Yulia Chernobyl’s anger does not go away. “They treated us terribly.” Her father, Andriy, was reported missing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, while he was fighting with the 120th territorial defense brigade. “I’ve been looking for him for six months, in vain,” says the nurse.
Anna Matiaj’s husband has been missing for more than 18 months while fighting with the Donbass battalion. “The commanders just send them to their deaths,” he says. Russia has not provided complete lists of prisoners of war or access to detention centers.
Nadia Primak, 16, who lives in Zaporizhzhia (south), holds a photo of her father, missing in the Donetsk region, and her brother, 28, who fought in the 36th brigade and has been a prisoner for 18 months. The family learned about her fate from a Russian video.
“We came here today because we want to know where my father is, where my brother is… Our authorities are silent. Why don’t they say anything?
“We want the truth and we want the commanders to come and talk to us,” adds his mother, Vira. “But they lock their phones, so we can’t call them.”