Ukraine bids farewell to 'collector of souls' killed on recovery mission
Thousands gathered in Kyiv to honor Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer who recovered war dead for over two decades, killed by a landmine on Aug. 5.
KYIV — Thousands gathered at the Cathedral of Saint Volodymyr in central Kyiv on Saturday to pay their final respects to Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer who dedicated more than two decades to recovering the bodies of war dead. He was 40.
Yukov died on Aug. 5 when a landmine exploded during one of his recovery missions. An Orthodox Christian service was held in his memory, drawing a large crowd of mourners.
Yukov founded the organization Platsdarm, meaning "bridgehead," driven by his conviction that every person killed in conflict deserves a proper burial. His work earned him the nickname "collector of souls."
A native of the war-torn Donbas region and a martial arts instructor, Yukov began his grim vocation as a teenager after discovering the remains of Soviet and Russian soldiers from World War II.
Platsdarm volunteers operate in fields, forests, and ruins, often across heavily mined terrain. Yukov himself had been injured in a mine blast in 2022, losing an eye and suffering leg wounds. Despite these injuries, he returned to the field.
In a social media post last month, Yukov described the dangers of his work: "Remote mines, shelling, drones — everything is against you. But you go and do everything to ensure that every soul returns home."
He also addressed criticism over recovering Russian bodies, writing: "When they say: 'Let them rot,' I do not agree. This is how we fight for every soul."
Yukov viewed his work in spiritual terms, describing a body as a soul waiting to go home. "This is action," he wrote. "Action every day in the fields, in the forest belts, among the ruins, where your life can end at any moment."