By KYIV. Dec 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Investigators of the National Police Main Directorate in Kharkiv region received three modern DNA laboratories, which were donated by American public figure and businessman Howard Graham Buffett, who visited the territories liberated from Russian occupation in November, in particular, the city of Izium.
"On Tuesday, one of the laboratories will go to Izium, other complexes will work in Kharkiv," the communications department of the regional police directorate reports.
According to the head of the investigative department, Serhiy Bolvinov, the laboratory complexes will allow for rapid DNA tests and thus speed up the process of identifying the bodies. "We will work in parallel with relatives who have information about their relatives, this machine will allow us to compare these DNA within minutes. That is, within a day we will be able to conduct such an analysis and only then identify them as soon as possible so that relatives understand where their loved ones are," he said.
In turn, the head of the regional department of the National Police, Volodymyr Tymoshko, said that at the moment, law enforcement officers have exhumed more than 900 bodies in the de-occupied territories of the region. "Since September 7, police investigators together with the prosecutor’s office [in the de-occupied territories] have exhumed more than 900 bodies. And such exhumations occur every day. A significant number of bodies have not been identified," he said.
According to Bolvinov, more than 200 bodies have not been identified to date.
It is expected that another DNA laboratory will be delivered to Kharkiv after testing. The cost of the laboratory complexes is $1.7 million.
