You're reading: Defense Ministry: More than 1,000 Ukrainian troops captured

More than a thousand troops are believed to have been captured by the militia in eastern Ukraine, but the actual figure could be much greater, Vasyl Budyk, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister's aid for prisoners of war (POW), said.

“The 1,007 POWs, entered on our lists as of Aug. 18, are a small
part of the actual number of POWs,” he said at a roundtable in Kyiv on Aug. 19.

“Whereas the number of POWs is more or less clear, the problem of civilians and journalists is ‘global’ in scope,” he said.

Budyk also said that many of those released from captivity have no identification documents.

“The problems we are tackling now are that of providing them with
legal documents. Many live in random places and are half starved. Some
are aided by volunteers. But the problem is a systemic one,” he said.