Ukraine mourns 'collector of souls' Oleksiy Yukov, killed recovering war dead
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- Oleksiy Yukov, 40, was killed by a landmine on Aug. 5 in the Donetsk region while exhuming a body during a recovery mission, according to friend Serhiy Hnezdilov, who wrote that Yukov 'gave names back to the dead.'
- Thousands of Ukrainians paid respects at an Orthodox Christian service in Kyiv on Saturday, with prior mourning held in Yukov's hometown of Sloviansk in Donetsk province.
- Yukov founded Platsdarm ('Bridgehead') in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea to recover remains and provide dignified burials, a mission he continued after the Feb. 2022 full-scale invasion.
- In 2022, Yukov lost an eye and sustained a leg injury in a mine blast but returned to recovery work while still healing, according to The Associated Press.
- Platsdarm volunteers recovered remains not only of Ukrainian soldiers but also Russian soldiers and civilians killed in the conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides.
- Yukov's belief that souls 'wander' until bodies are buried and mourned was featured in the International Emmy-winning documentary 'Ukraine's Frontline Sacrifice.'
Why it matters: Yukov's death at 40 from a landmine during an exhumation removes one of Ukraine's most experienced frontline recovery volunteers at a moment when the war's mounting casualties are driving urgent demand for dignified burials. His Platsdarm team uniquely retrieved Russian as well as Ukrainian remains, meaning his loss directly affects closure efforts for families on both sides of a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands.
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