Ukrainian Woman Searches for Husband Missing in Action for Two Years

Mariia Pylnyk, 29, continues to hope for her husband Dmytro, who went missing in early 2023 during intense fighting in Ukraine's war against Russia. Dmytro, an electrician turned soldier, was last heard from on their son's third birthday, just before their unit was ambushed in Bakhmut. Despite efforts to find out about his fate through prisoner exchanges and government channels, Mariia says she has received little concrete information.

"I hold out great hope that someone has heard something, seen something," Pylnyk, 29, told Reuters at a recent exchange in May, flanked by other relatives of those missing in action.

"My son and I are waiting for (his) dad to come home. Hope dies last. God willing, it'll all be okay and dad will come back."

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More than 70,000 Ukrainians are officially registered as missing since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, mostly soldiers, with some civilians. Mariia has given her son's DNA to authorities in case her husband is confirmed dead, but she firmly believes he is alive and hopes he will return.

She lives with her young son Artem in a village that was briefly occupied by Russian forces. She has kept her husband's absence hidden from her son, telling him he is at work. Mariia draws strength from witnessing families reunited in prisoner exchanges, and she remains determined to continue searching for her husband amid the ongoing conflict.