Oleksiy Yukov, a 40-year-old Ukrainian volunteer widely known as the "collector of souls" for his tireless work recovering the remains of soldiers and civilians from frontline battlefields, has died. Yukov was killed on August 5 after stepping on a landmine while attempting to exhume a body in the eastern Donetsk region.
His death was confirmed by his friend, Serhiy Hnezdilov, who shared the news on social media. In a tribute cited by the Kyiv Post, Hnezdilov described the loss as profound, noting that Yukov had a unique ability to "give names back to the dead." Thousands of mourners gathered in Kyiv on Saturday to pay their respects during an Orthodox Christian funeral service held at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. Prior to the ceremony in the capital, local residents in his hometown of Sloviansk also held services to honor his contributions.
Yukov’s commitment to providing closure for families was marked by significant personal sacrifice. In 2022, he sustained a leg injury and lost an eye during a separate mine explosion while on a recovery mission, yet he returned to his work shortly after the incident while still in the recovery process. His involvement in this field began as a teenager, when he developed an interest in searching for remains on World War II battlefields. Following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the subsequent conflict, he founded the organization Platsdarm, or "Bridgehead," to formalize the search for the dead and ensure they received dignified burials.
Describing the team's methodology, Yukov previously explained that he and a small group of volunteers would begin their days by surveying terrain with drones, checking trenches, craters, and shell holes. Once an area was mapped into grids, they utilized probes and metal detectors to identify explosive hazards. After bomb disposal experts neutralized these threats, the team would proceed to carefully search for human remains. Their efforts were not limited to Ukrainian soldiers; the team also recovered Russian military personnel and civilians killed during the conflict.
Yukov often spoke of the moral necessity of his work, telling Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that while Russia had caused immense suffering, his team remained committed to their humanitarian mission. In the Emmy-award-winning documentary Ukraine's Frontline Sacrifice, Yukov shared his personal philosophy regarding the dead. He believed that the soul remains with the body until it is buried and mourned, stating that the war would not reach its conclusion as long as the souls of the fallen continued to wander.
FILE — Oleksiy Yukov examines the body of a Russian soldier he collected on the frontline in the Sloviansk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. Bram Janssen/AP hide caption
