Ukraine sets up NSDC working body to speed up identification of fallen soldiers' remains
Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Ihor Klymenko has announced the creation of a dedicated working body under the NSDC to accelerate the identification of the bodies of fallen defenders and improve the quality of forensic examinations. The decision, taken on the instruction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, places identification work directly under NSDC oversight, tasks the government with strengthening the forensic medical examination system, and envisions specialized regional bureaus focused solely on identifying military remains.
Key points
- A working body on identification of fallen defenders' remains is to be created under the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
- NSDC Secretary Ihor Klymenko announced the move on Telegram on October 3.
- The decision was taken on the instruction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- The body's mandate is to accelerate identification and improve the quality of forensic examinations.
- The working body is to bring together all state structures involved in identifying fallen servicemembers.
- The government is tasked with strengthening the forensic medical examination system, increasing the number of specialists and ensuring proper working conditions.
- Specialized regional forensic medical examination bureaus are to be created, focused exclusively on identifying the remains of military personnel.
- Identification work is now placed under NSDC oversight.
Why it matters
The move signals that identification of fallen soldiers' remains — a process families of the missing have long described as painfully slow — is being elevated to a national-security priority under direct presidential and NSDC oversight. By concentrating responsibility in a single coordinating body, staffing the forensic medical examination system and creating regional bureaus dedicated to military cases, Kyiv is responding to a growing backlog and to the political sensitivity surrounding the fate of the missing, and positioning itself for the larger repatriation flows that continue from Russia.
What happened
On October 3, 2026, NSDC Secretary Ihor Klymenko announced in a Telegram post that a working body on the identification of the bodies of fallen defenders is being created under the National Security and Defense Council. The decision was taken on the instruction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The new body's stated goals are to accelerate the identification of fallen servicemembers and to improve the quality of forensic examinations. It is to bring together all state structures currently involved in identifying military remains, and the overall identification effort is now placed under NSDC oversight.
The government has been tasked with strengthening Ukraine's forensic medical examination (SME) system, including by increasing the number of specialists and ensuring proper working conditions. In addition, specialized regional SME bureaus are to be set up that will focus exclusively on identifying the bodies of military personnel.
Klymenko framed the initiative around the experience of families of the missing, saying that prolonged waiting for identification causes additional pain and that the state must deliver faster answers and better examinations.