Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
Searching for a detained civilian or a deported child
First step. If you are in Ukraine-controlled territory or abroad, file a written statement with Ukraine's National Police. The Center for Civil Liberties advises demanding victim status in it: a call to the police hotline does not open a case. The person is entered in the Unified Register of persons missing under special circumstances; advice on 1698. Report to the National Information Bureau: 1648, from abroad +380 44 287 81 65, bot @nib_uncp_bot.
What is known. Russia rarely confirms it holds civilians. Figures differ: Ukraine's Ombudsman (June 2026) cites 1,878 confirmed cases, the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR, August 2026) at least 2,614 people still held, and the UN estimates over 16,000 civilians deprived of liberty. The ICRC last visited detainees in Russia in 2024. According to the UN, 85% of released civilians reported torture.
The Coordination Headquarters also handles civilians: 0 800 300 529, from abroad +380 44 390 43 90, applications via a personal account with Bank ID or Diia.Pidpys. Its website belongs to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR), so contacting it directly is dangerous for people in Russia or under occupation. Ukraine's Ombudsman: 1678, from abroad +380 44 299 74 08; it passes lists of civilians to the ICRC.
From Russia the safest channel is the ICRC, which works there legally. You can send a tracing request online (the form is available in Russian) or call: in Russia 8 800 600 92 69 (free) or +7 495 626 54 26, in Ukraine 0 800 300 155. The ICRC works confidentially and does not promise results.
Searching via human rights groups. Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) hotline 0 800 20 24 02 (free from Ukrainian numbers): lawyers send about 40 requests per person and found over 30% of those reported. MIHR collects testimonies from relatives and released people. MIHR is 'undesirable' in Russia, and KHPG reportedly is too (not confirmed), so relatives outside Russia should be the ones to contact them.
Children. According to the Children of War portal, as of 26 September 2026, 20,651 children were deported or forcibly transferred and 2,644 returned. A UN commission found the deportation of children to be a crime against humanity: children are given Russian citizenship and put on adoption databases. You can report a child via the form on childrenofwar.gov.ua. Save Ukraine helps bring children back: 0 800 333 129, including when parents are in Ukraine or Europe.
Check numbers against official websites. Old guides still list disconnected numbers, such as the Ombudsman's former line 0 800 50 17 20. Keep a record of where and when you applied. You don't need to apply to the Coordination Headquarters twice.
Designations of organisations in this guide: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) (undesirable); Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) (undesirable); Center for Civil Liberties (undesirable). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.
11 organisations · contacts checked against the organisations' sites 26 September 2026
Where you are now
Shows those who help where you are now. The choice works only on your screen.
Save Ukraine
Charity that evacuates children, families and young people from occupied areas, Russia and Belarus, including when the child is there and parents are in Ukraine or Europe; route advice, then shelter, documents and psychological support. Reports 1,763 children rescued.
Works specifically with people under occupation and in Russia and promises confidentiality. The 0 800 number is free from Ukrainian numbers. A trace of contact on your phone is dangerous during checks. No status in Russia found (no independent reports).
Call →0800333129(a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman)
Ukrainian state body. Staff work permanently at the Domanove crossing; passes lists of detained civilians to the ICRC and the Russian side; works on returns from deportation centres and the Georgian border; takes reports on property seizure; consultation centre on finding children.
Messages with a Ukrainian state body on your phone are dangerous during checks. The main number is now 1678. The old 0 800 50 17 20 is no longer listed on the website; it still worked in May 2026, but it is unclear for how long. It is safer for relatives outside the occupied territories and Russia to make contact. A Ukrainian state body; no status found in Russian registers.
Neutral intermediary: takes family requests to trace missing military and civilians, passes information and family messages. Visits detainees in Ukraine; last visit in Russia was in 2024. Works confidentially.
A relatively safe channel for people in Russia or under occupation: there is a free Russian number. No guarantee of results. The ICRC is not present in the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It works officially in Russia (a delegation in Moscow, teams in Donetsk and Luhansk).
Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Ukrainian state body negotiating exchanges and returns. Also handles civilians: a separate roadmap for families and a civilians working group. Applications via a personal account (Bank ID or Diia.Pidpys). Regional lines for Kherson region and Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia.
High risk for a person under occupation or in Russia: contact with a body of Ukraine's military intelligence can become grounds for a treason or espionage case. Relatives in Ukraine-controlled territory or abroad should make contact. No status in Russia found. The website says it belongs to the HUR of Ukraine's Defence Ministry (military intelligence).
Call →0800300529(a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
National Information Bureau of Ukraine
Records POWs, detained civilians, deported and missing people; takes reports on captivity, disappearance, deportation and forced mobilisation in occupied areas; passes them to law enforcement, international missions and the Coordination HQ.
A call or the bot leaves a trace. It is safer for relatives outside Russia and the occupied territories to report. A Ukrainian state body; no status found.
Keeps the Unified Register of persons missing under special circumstances, issues free extracts, advises, organises DNA sampling. The status starts with a written application to the National Police.
The application is filed with the Ukrainian police, that is, by a relative in Ukraine-controlled territory. A person in Russia or under occupation had better not make direct contact. A body of Ukraine's Interior Ministry; no status found.
Presidential initiative to find and return deported children. Keeps the official counter; lists vetted partners that help people leave (Save Ukraine, Helping to Leave and others).
A Ukrainian state initiative. For a family under occupation or in Russia direct contact is risky; for leaving, the initiative itself refers people to partners. No status in Russia found.
Ukrainian state portal: figures on children and a one-click form to report a child's disappearance, deportation, whereabouts or forced change of citizenship to the police, Prosecutor General and NIB. Ombudsman consultation centre.
The forms go straight to Ukraine's law enforcement agencies. From Russia or the occupied territories it is better to pass the details to a relative in a safe place. A Ukrainian state portal; no status found.
Free legal help through a network of advice centres across Ukraine, many of which consult remotely. They help people affected by the war: claims to the Register of Damage and court cases for families of missing persons.
Calling a Ukrainian number from occupied areas or from Russia is risky: better contact them after you leave. The website and consultations are in Ukrainian. They have no separate programme for civilians held in Russia.
Call →+380444851792(a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG)
Hotline searching for missing civilians and POWs in occupied areas and Russia: lawyers send about 40 requests per person and found over 30% of those reported. Free legal and psychological help for relatives.
Since December 2025 KHPG has been on Russia's 'undesirable' list (Prosecutor General's decision of 19 Nov 2025, added by the Justice Ministry on 2 Dec 2025). Contacting it from Russia can lead to a case under CAO art. 20.33 and art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code. It is safer for relatives outside Russia and the occupied territories to make contact.
Call →0800202402(a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR)
Documents abductions of civilians, Russian sentences against Ukrainians and places of detention; takes testimonies from relatives and released people; campaigns for the release of civilians.
Passing on testimony from Russia or the occupied territories may be treated as taking part in an 'undesirable' organisation. It is safer for relatives outside Russia to make contact. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office designated MIHR 'undesirable' on 14.04.2026; on the Justice Ministry list since 27.04.2026 (Interfax, 28.04.2026).