The missing Ukrainians

BLYSTAVYTSYA, Ukraine - Rudaw’s Dilnya Rahman and Ahmed Younus follow the stories of the families of missing Ukrainians from the village of Blystavytsya, Bucha, in Kyiv province. The distraught family members are still waiting for their loved ones, who they believe have been taken captive by Russian forces, to return. 

“Now the situation is very difficult and I am under more stress and I cannot calm down. I do not want anything but my son to come back,” Anna Grubeniuk, whose son has been missing since months, tells Rudaw between tears. 

The documentary also shows the damage left behind by the war in the cities of Bucha and Kharkiv which were hit hard by the war. Bucha made international headlines as the scenes of Russian “war crimes” emerged from the town in April.

Dozens of bodies were found lying in the streets of Bucha and mass graves were uncovered when the Ukrainian forces retook the territory from Russian troops.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of killing hundreds of civilians in the town. Moscow has categorically denied the accusations.
During Russia's brief takeover of Bucha, 416 civilians were killed and 187 residential buildings were destroyed, Mykhailyna Skoryk, the advisor to Bucha’s mayor told Rudaw in May. 

Russia’s war on Ukraine began on February 24, with over 7 million Ukrainians leaving the country to other European countries including Hungary, Romania, and Poland, according to the latest data by the United Nations’ Refugee Agency.