Oleksiy Yukov, Ukrainian 'collector of souls,' killed by landmine

Oleksiy Yukov, a 40-year-old volunteer known as the "collector of souls," was killed by a landmine on August 5 during a recovery mission in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Yukov was the leader of the Platsdarm ("Bridgehead") search and rescue unit, an organization he founded to recover the remains of soldiers and civilians to ensure dignified burials.

Thousands of people gathered at the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr in Kyiv and at Maidan Square to pay their respects during an Orthodox Christian service. Yukov had a long history of this work, beginning as a teenager searching for World War II remains. In 2022, he survived a mine blast that cost him an eye and injured his leg, but he returned to frontline duties despite his injuries.

His work involved surveying dangerous territory with drones and metal detectors to locate remains of both Ukrainian and Russian service members. During the funeral, his widow, Evhenyia Kaluhyna, and his daughter, Diana Kaluhyna, expressed their grief and pledged to continue his mission of providing closure to grieving families.