Identifying people who died in inhumane conditions is extremely difficult, emotionally exhausting work, Ruslan Abbasov, Deputy Director of the State Scientific Research Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and Head of the Expert Service, a native of Azerbaijan's Zardab district, said speaking about his professional journey and life path in an interview with Report's Eastern European bureau.
"In 2008, while working as a field officer, I brought materials to the Vinnytsia branch of the State Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There, I met with the management, and upon learning about my background in chemical and biological sciences, they offered me a position at the center, as specialists with such expertise were in demand. I agreed. After several years of work and gaining experience, I was transferred to the central office in Kyiv. I worked as a department head, overseeing expert units in several regions. In 2022, I was appointed Deputy Director of the center nationwide and Head of the Expert Service,” Abbasov said.
According to him, in addition to molecular-genetic studies, he also supervises chemical forensic analysis: "I managed to draft a bill on the creation of a DNA database, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. After the war began in 2022, the workload increased sharply, and with it — our responsibility."
Abbasov emphasized that the main focus of his work is forensic molecular-genetic examination. "Before the war, there were nine operational laboratories in Ukraine; today, that number has grown to eighteen. We have established twice as many modern lab facilities equipped with everything necessary. The service has analyzed and cross-checked more than 100,000 samples from relatives of the missing and deceased," he said.
He also noted that the majority of bodies come from areas with ongoing active combat — Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and border regions.
"Since the start of the war, we’ve received a large number of unidentified body samples. I personally have conducted DNA testing on more than 18,000 such samples. We have already identified over 10,000 of the deceased. This is extremely difficult, emotionally exhausting work — identifying people who died in inhumane conditions, often from partial remains, and relaying that information to their families. There is no room for error here: even the slightest mistrust or miscommunication can lead to tragic consequences. We simply cannot allow that," he said.
