Oleksiy Yukov, a Ukrainian known as the "collector of souls" for his decades-long work recovering the remains of soldiers and civilians on the frontlines of war, was honored in Kyiv on Saturday after being killed by a landmine during a recovery mission in the eastern Donetsk region.
Yukov, 40, was killed on Aug. 5 when he stepped on the mine during an effort to exhume a body, according to a social media post by his friend, Serhiy Hnezdilov. "This is a great loss for me personally and for the people close to me," he wrote in a translation published by Kyiv Post. "[H]e gave names back to the dead."
Thousands of Ukrainians paid their respects to Yukov in an Orthodox Christian service in the capital. Before the service in Kyiv, Yukov was mourned and honored in his hometown of Sloviansk in Donetsk province.
Yukov was known for his tireless efforts to bring closure to the families of those killed in the war. In carrying out that task in 2022, he lost an eye and sustained a leg injury in a mine blast, The Associated Press says, but returned to his work even as he was still recovering.