“War won’t end until we find them and bury them.” Video: Search for soldiers killed in Russia-Ukraine war

The video above contains English subtitles. 

UKRAINE, DONETSK OBLAST — Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 — and volunteers of the “Platsdarm” search group have been looking for bodies of fallen Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and evacuating them from the frontline since. During three years of the Russian full-scale invasion, volunteers have recovered more than 3,000 bodies.

The search group now primarily operates in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. Gwara joined “Platsdarm” on their mission at the intersection of two regions — an area that saw heavy fighting in 2022 — to learn about their work as they’ve searched for the body of a fallen Russian soldier. 

The terrain presents significant challenges: forests have been reduced to scorched earth and are heavily contaminated with explosive devices. Before beginning their primary mission of recovering remains, the volunteers establish safe pathways through these mine barriers.

The name of the group, “Platsdarm,” comes from the military term for a territory used for combat operations. Where the work of the military ends, the work of the search group begins, says the group’s founder, Oleksii Yukov. He has been searching for fallen soldiers for 23 years — before 2014, he was looking for the bodies of those killed during World War II. 

“My soul hurts for each and every fallen. I want to find them and bring them home so that my soul can calm down. Because the war will not end until we gather them all from here and bury them,” says Oleksii. 

Text: Polina Kulish 

Video: Polina Kulish, Hnat Holyk 

Cover photo: Volunteer Oleksii Yukov puts number signs for evidence around the body of a fallen Russian soldier in Donetsk region, March 2025. / Hnat Holyk, Gwara Media