Ukraine honors its ‘collector of souls’ killed while recovering the war dead
Summary
Ukraine held a memorial service for Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer who died while recovering bodies of soldiers and civilians killed in war. Yukov, known as a "collector of souls," spent more than 20 years retrieving bodies from dangerous areas, including minefields, to give them proper burials.Key Facts
- Oleksiy Yukov died on August 5, 2026, from a landmine explosion during a recovery mission in the Donetsk region.
- He was 40 years old and worked as a volunteer recovering bodies of both Ukrainian and Russian war dead.
- Yukov founded an organization called Platsdarm to help ensure all the dead receive proper burials.
- He began this work as a teenager after finding bodies of Soviet and Russian soldiers from World War II.
- His work took place in dangerous areas with mines, shelling, and drones, and he was injured in 2022 but returned to continue his mission.
- Yukov described his efforts as a spiritual task to help souls "return home," opposing views that bodies should be left behind.
- Thousands gathered at St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv to honor him during the Orthodox Christian service.
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