Ukraine: EU supports delivery of genetic analysers to Ukraine to facilitate DNA-led human identification

On 14 February, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) donated equipment and material worth more than €120,000 to Ukraine’s State Scientific Research Forensic Centre (SSRFC) to support efforts to account for missing persons as a result of the Russian invasion.

This donation has been made possible through the financial support of the European Union Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).

The donated AB 3500 genetic analysers are essential instruments in the process of DNA profiling of biological samples provided by families who have missing relatives and biological samples from cases of unidentified mortal remains.

“This [donation] not only contributes to the identification of persons missing as a consequence of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also supports investigations into war crimes – thereby helping secure families’ rights to truth and justice,” Arturo Rodriguez Tonelli from FPI said.

Matthew Holliday, ICMP’s Programme Director Europe, added that the ICMP also collects data from Ukrainian citizens abroad to help facilitate the identification effort, provides support to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health to develop a state-of-the-art identification centre, and engages its forensic experts in the examination of the most complex cases when domestic capacities are exhausted.

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Press release