Ukraine Pays Tribute to Oleksiy Yukov, Fallen War Recovery Hero
WHO:
NPR - Oleksiy Yukov, a Ukrainian known as the "collector of souls"
NPR - Serhiy Hnezdilov, Yukov's friend
ABC News - Thousands of Ukrainians
WHAT:
NPR - Yukov was killed by a landmine during a recovery mission.
NPR - Yukov was 40 years old at the time of his death.
NPR - Yukov lost an eye and sustained a leg injury in a mine blast in 2022 but returned to work.
NPR - Yukov founded Platsdarm ("Bridgehead") to recover remains and provide dignified burials for the dead.
NPR - Yukov and his team recovered not just Ukrainian soldiers, but also Russian soldiers and civilians.
WHERE:
NPR - Yukov was honored in Kyiv.
NPR - Yukov was mourned in his hometown of Sloviansk in Donetsk province.
NPR - Recovery efforts took place in the eastern Donetsk region.
WHEN:
NPR - Yukov was killed on Aug. 5.
NPR - Yukov was honored in Kyiv on a Saturday following his death.
WHY:
NPR - Yukov's work aimed to bring closure to the families of those killed in the war.
NPR - Yukov believed that until bodies are buried, the souls remain and cannot be reborn.
HOW:
NPR - Yukov and his team surveyed areas with drones, checked trenches, craters, and used probes and metal detectors to search for bodies.
NPR - They called in bomb disposal experts to destroy or neutralize mines and explosive devices before searching for bodies.
(UPDATED August 8, 2026 23:18 UTC)
Oleksiy Yukov, a Ukrainian known as the "collector of souls," was tragically killed by a landmine during a recovery mission at the age of 40. He founded Platsdarm, an organization dedicated to recovering remains and providing dignified burials for both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as civilians, believing that until bodies are buried, the souls remain and cannot be reborn. Yukov was honored in Kyiv and mourned in his hometown of Sloviansk, with his recovery efforts taking place in the eastern Donetsk region, where he and his team utilized drones and bomb disposal experts to safely search for the deceased.