Ukraine identifies 37,000 people as missing, warns the figure may be 'much higher'

Protesters hold placards and flags depicting portraits of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing servicemen during a rally demanding their search and liberation, at Independence Square in Kyiv on October 16, 2023. © Sergei Supinsky, AFP

Ukraine said Tuesday it had identified almost 37,000 people, including military personnel, who are unaccounted for since Russia's invasion began in February 2022, warning the actual figure may be "much higher". 

Calculating the exact number of missing is difficult, as Russian forces still occupy around a fifth of the country and neither side regularly releases data on military casualties.