Ukraine has mourned Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer known as a “collector of souls” for recovering the bodies of people killed in war, after he died in a landmine explosion during a mission. His death highlights the continuing dangers faced by those who retrieve and identify the dead near the front line, allowing families to bury relatives and helping document the human cost of the conflict.

Thousands attended an Orthodox service in Kyiv and gathered at Maidan Square following Yukov’s death on 5 August; he was 40. He founded the Platsdarm volunteer group and had recovered civilian and military bodies, including many Russian soldiers, for more than two decades; despite losing an eye and sustaining leg injuries in a mine blast in 2022, he returned to the work. His widow, Evhenyia Kaluhyna, said she would continue the group’s mission.