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Ukraine Says Goodbye to Oleksii Yukov, Who Spent Decades Bringing the Fallen Home
For over 20 years, Oleksii Yukov went where few others would, searching battlefields for the missing and bringing the fallen back to their families. Today, Ukraine gathered in Kyiv to say goodbye.
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On August 8, Ukraine bid farewell to Oleksii Yukov at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in the center of Kyiv and later at Independence Square.
Born in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Yukov dedicated most of his life to searching for those killed in war and returning their remains to their families.
Before the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014, Yukov searched for the remains of soldiers killed during World War II. Later, together with the Platsdarm search team, he scanned the battlefields and front-line areas for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
“I want what he did to live on. Because there are so many [fallen] out there. Believe me, there is so much you don’t know about, places journalists never reach,” said Yevhenia Kaluhina, Oleksii’s Wife, Director of the Sloviansk Museum.
His mission was to give the dead their names back and bring them home.
“I don’t understand how, in such a short time, one person could do so much for so many people. I think everyone who had the chance to speak with him, even just once, will remember it forever,” his daughter Daria said during the farewell ceremony.
Ukrainian journalist Ramina Eshakzai accompanied Yukov in his work and described his ability to find the dead as something that seemed to go beyond mere experience.
“It felt as though he had come from another world, some kind of fairytale, magical world. He could sense the dead.”
She recalled one case Yukov had told her about: the family of a missing Ukrainian serviceman had waited for news for a long time. During the search, Yukov eventually looked up and spotted the soldier’s remains caught in a tree.
“And now I picture all those souls Oleksii helped finally being able to thank him, because they have finally found peace.”
Apart from his search operations, Yukov was also a father and martial arts coach.
“A lot of people knew him as a searcher, but he also had children—we were those children, the fighters from his club. Thanks to him, I have the strength of character I have today,” said Alina Danchenko, Yukov’s Student
Yukov ultimately died carrying out the work to which he had devoted much of his life. It happened on August 5 after stepping on a mine in the Lyman community, Donetsk region, while returning from a mission.
Artur Simeiko, a member of the Platsdarm search team who was with Yukov during his final mission, recalled his last moments: “When he was dying, he said, ‘I’m going.’”
“Even though he is gone, we are still learning from him how to be patriots of our land. We will miss him deeply, but his work will live on,” Artur added.
The work also meant recovering Russian soldiers. Yukov and his team retrieved Russian bodies from battlefields so they could be exchanged for fallen Ukrainians and returned to their families.
“For 25 years, Oleksii walked on a knife’s edge, going into extremely dangerous places to recover the dead. He would say, ‘Guys, I’ll get you out,’” the Military Chaplain Oleksandr, from the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade, recalled.
“Oleksii, I love you so much. You were the best. And you still are. I’m proud to be your wife. I’m proud that I gave birth to your daughter.”
Yevhenia Kaluhina, Oleksii’s Wife
Director of the Sloviansk Museum
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