Journalist’s experience: Oleksii Yukov, a seasoned body collector in eastern Ukraine, braves dangerous conditions and evades enemy fire to retrieve fallen soldiers from the battlefield. In the war-torn region near the village of Klishchiivka outside Bakhmut, Yukov and his team have gathered the remains of 300 bodies, mostly Russian soldiers left behind in the chaos of conflict.
For over a decade, Yukov has been on the front lines, leading a group of civilian volunteers known as Platsdarm. He has witnessed the horrors of war, but even he is shocked by the toll of the ongoing Russian offensive. Amidst the brutal fighting, he has discovered bodies stacked in trenches, soldiers buried under layers of winter gear, and pits filled with corpses emitting a sickening stench.
The Russian military’s willingness to sacrifice thousands of soldiers in a relentless bid for territory has defined the recent phase of the war. As Ukraine struggles to defend itself with dwindling resources, the casualty count continues to rise. Yukov’s firsthand accounts reveal the grim reality of the conflict, with Russian casualties far outnumbering Ukrainian losses.
Despite the danger, Yukov and his team persist in their mission to retrieve the dead. They work closely with the Ukrainian military, exchanging the remains of Russian soldiers for those of fallen Ukrainian troops. This rare cooperation between opposing forces underscores the shared tragedy of war.
With no accurate tally of casualties on either side, estimates vary widely. President Zelensky claims that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 500,000 Russians have been killed, figures that cannot be independently verified. Western intelligence agencies suggest even higher death tolls for Russia, but the true extent of the carnage remains obscured by government censorship.
Yukov’s tireless efforts to bring closure to grieving families and uphold the dignity of the fallen reflect a profound commitment to humanity in the midst of inhumanity. As he navigates the deadly battlegrounds of the Donbas, he remains driven by a sense of duty to honor the rights of the dead and preserve their memory in the face of war’s relentless brutality.