14 unknown soldiers buried in Dnipropetrovsk

Another 14 unknown soldiers killed in the Donbas have been buried at Krasnopilske cemetery In Dnipropetrovsk.

"In total, 225 unknown defenders of Ukraine have been buried at Krasnopilske cemetery. Today, another 14 soldiers will be laid to rest here. 90 of those buried have been identified. 80 of them have been reburied in their home ground at the request of the relatives," director of the Department for Interaction with Civil Protection and Defense Law Enforcement Agencies of the Dnipropetrovsk State Regional Administration Iryna Fedorchuk said to journalists, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.

According to her, the remains of 80 men have been taken to the Lviv, Chernihiv, Zakarpattia, Volyn, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kyev, Zhytomyr, Poltava and Vinnytsia regions. The bodies of 10 more remained at the cemetery.

Since the beginning of hostilities in the east of Ukraine, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination has received nearly 1,000 bodies, including 609 bodies brought from the beginning of 2015. 596 bodies have been visually identified by relatives. The DNA samples are taken from all unknown soldiers and compared with samples of those looking for their relatives missing in the ATO area. This has already helped identify 222 bodies, which have been returned to their families. Currently, 171 fighters remain unknown.

"Since the beginning of the year we have received deceased almost every day. Today we bury those, who were brought here in March and June. There are 27 unknown fighters in morgues at the moment, who were brought in July and August. If there are no DNA matches, we will bury the guys next week, or a bit later," Fedorchuk said.

The department reminds families, seeking for their relatives missing in the ATO area, that they should address the investigation department at their place of residence, where they can file an application. After that, they will have their DNA samples taken. The results will be entered to a unified database of the State Research Center of Forensic Expertise of the Interior Ministry.