The Ministry of Defense has found a way to more quickly identify fallen Ukrainian soldiers — they will add fingerprints and toenails

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has found a way to more quickly identify deceased Ukrainian military personnel not only using DNA — adding fingerprints and toenails to the system.

This was reported by the head of the Department of Health of the Ministry of Defense Dmytro Samofalov, for LB.ua.

According to him, in the world, deceased soldiers are first identified by their badge, fingerprints, and dental formula, and DNA expertise is used later, because it is more expensive. Samofalov explained that the Ministry of Defense proposes to read not only fingerprints, but also footprints — they are often better preserved because they remain protected in shoes.

The department hopes to implement the new approach by the end of 2026. They believe that this will help reduce the risk of errors during identification. Samofalov also recalled that there have been cases when DNA testing mistakenly confirmed the death of a person who was actually alive.

• The identification of bodies is also complicated by the fact that Russia transfers remains to Ukraine in a mixed manner — among them may be Russian military personnel. Former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that the process of identifying bodies also complicates their condition.
• In addition, the Russian Federation sometimes transfers the bodies of several people in one package, and sometimes experts find the remains of one person in different packages or even during different stages of repatriation.

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