Since August 2024, the Russian Red Cross (the RRC) has assisted in tracing and re-establishing contacts with 1,419 people who were lost for their loved ones following the emergency in the Kursk region. Among them there are 1,098 civilians and 321 military personnel.
There are various options to forward requests for tracing and search, namely the RRC website, a special helpline and attendance in person in Kursk. A total of 7,061 requests were received, of which 4,328 via the website, and 2,733 through the helpline and attendance in person. Beyond that work, the RRC staff analyzes information from open sources, such as mass media, social networks and Telegram channels. Every personwho applies to the NS receives psychological assistance. For this purpose, our staff made more than 11,000 telephone calls.
“When we are contacted by people who have lost their loved ones, we understand that for them it is a matter of life and hopefor the better. Due to coordinated work with colleagues from governmental and international structures, as well as the support of volunteers, we have managed to restore hope formore than 1,400 people and their families. Every day we see our efforts yielding results. The families get reunited and people find the long-awaited tranquility”, emphasized Pavel Savchuk, thepresident of the Russian Red Cross.
In order to improve the efficiency of interaction, the RRC has been cooperating with government authorities, including the Kursk region government, the Kursk region department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Kursk region department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Beyond that, we work with the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (the ICRC). On a regular basis the ICRC receives data on persons to which the RRC does not have access to.
Any person can apply for a tracing via website redcross.ru, calls to toll-free telephone line 8 (800) 250-56-29 or by contacting the RRC staff in Kursk.
During this activity, the Russian Red Cross faces situations when relatives receive fraudulent messages. Thus, the RRC urges not to make publicly available information about themselves and the relatives, which are being traced on social networks and platforms of public access.
