The documentary film “Return My Name” was screened at the public space “Vybіr” based in the Officers’ House in Lviv. The film is dedicated to the topic of returning the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, the work of search groups and identification specialists, as well as the deep experiences of families searching for their loved ones.
This is reported by Finway
Challenges of Identification and Stories of the Missing
The filmmakers managed to show, through personal stories, how difficult the work of searchers and identifiers is, and how the concept of “missing in action” affects the lives of Ukrainian families. One of the heroines is a young woman who lost her soldier husband before she could inform him about her pregnancy. After burying her beloved, she regularly visits his grave with their daughter.
Families of missing soldiers, representatives of supporting organizations, veterans, military personnel, and students from Lviv universities were present at the presentation in Lviv.
Discussion of the Film and Statistics on the Missing
After the screening, a discussion took place with the author, war correspondent Marian Kushnir. He spoke about his approach to creating the film, noting that he aimed to present the most realistic picture of the search, losses, and hope.
“I tried to convey a real picture with this film, as close to the truth as possible, a picture that shows how they storm, how investigators work, how relatives search, experience loss, and what remains after the loss. I tried to give hope because there is a daughter of a soldier who will grow up to be a Ukrainian. The war continues, and today both military and civilians need solidarity and support for each other,” says the author of the film “Return My Name,” Marian Kushnir.
Colonel Dmytro Buchko, head of the Officers’ House in Lviv, emphasized the importance of the film for understanding the scale of the work involved in searching for the missing and identifying bodies, stressing that Ukrainians value every soldier.
According to official registry data, over 90,000 people are considered missing under special circumstances, most of whom are defenders of Ukraine. In 2025, it was possible to establish the names of about 30,000 people from a list of 70,000, but in the second half of the year, the number of missing rose again to 80,000.
The film was created by author Marian Kushnir, editor Dmytro Juliay, producer Vladislav Yatskiv, operators Marian Kushnir, Pavlo Kholodov, Hanna Kudryavtseva, and the editing was done by Viktoriya Makarova and Marian Kushnir.
