Oleksii Yukov Killed; His Name Became a Symbol of Donbas and Remembrance

Oleksii Yukov, who led the Plaçdarm search group that located fallen servicemen, was killed on the line of contact, his wife Yevheniia reported.

Also, according to serviceman Serhii Hnezdivlov, Yukov suffered a fatal wound during the exhumation of bodies on the line of contact.

“For most of his life he returned names to the dead; he lived in Sloviansk. His name stands for the Ukrainian Donbas and respect for every fallen person he returned to their families,” he wrote.

The volunteer search group Plaçdarm, which Yukov led, was the first in Ukraine to begin searching for the dead — back during the war in Donbas (ATO). Later, volunteers under Oleksii’s leadership began locating the bodies of Russian soldiers, tortured and murdered local residents, and Ukrainian servicemen who died defending Ukraine’s independence.

In a podcast on hromadske, Oleksii said that at 12 years old he saw the site of a battle between Soviet and German forces near the settlement of Bohorodychne: “I saw how many people lay on the surface — looted, dug up, thrown out. Skulls, helmets, ammunition were scattered all over the forest. Since then I began searching for those killed in World War II.”

In 2024 year Oleksii Yukov became one of hromadske’s Heroes — an award for the heroes of our pieces, with which we honor Ukrainians who do the impossible, inspiring us and our readers.