Ukraine held memorial services on Saturday to honor Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer who died at the age of 40 in a landmine explosion while on a mission to recover bodies of those killed in the conflict. Thousands gathered in Kyiv's Cathedral of Saint Volodymyr for an Orthodox Christian service, while others paid respects at Maidan Square.
Yukov founded Platsdarm, or Bridgehead, an organization dedicated to ensuring that all deceased individuals receive a proper burial, earning him the moniker "collector of souls." His work began in his youth in the Donbas region, inspired by the discovery of World War II remains. Platsdarm volunteers navigate treacherous terrain, including mined fields and forests, to retrieve bodies.
Yukov's widow, Evhenyia Kaluhyna, pledged to continue his mission. "The work was difficult and terrifying," she stated at the funeral. "But I promise you we will continue it because the (dead) deserve it, and you deserve it for everything you did."
His daughter, Diana Kaluhyna, shared that her father's compassion for grieving families had deeply impacted the nation. "What stayed with me today was the simple truth: he honored the dead and healed the living," she said. "He offered more than hope, he restored people."
Despite suffering severe injuries, including the loss of an eye and leg damage from a mine blast in 2022, Yukov returned to his recovery efforts. In a social media post last month, he described the dangers of his work, noting that "Remote mines, shelling, drones — everything is against you. But you go and do everything to ensure that every soul returns home."
Yukov also advocated for recovering bodies regardless of nationality, stating, "When they say: ‘Let them rot,’ I do not agree. This is how we fight for every soul." He viewed his work in spiritual terms, believing a body represented a soul awaiting its return home. "This is action. Action every day in the fields, in the forest belts, among the ruins, where your life can end at any moment," he wrote.