Ukraine honors its 'collector of souls' volunteer killed while recovering the war dead

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine paid tribute on Saturday to Oleksiy Yukov, a volunteer who spent more than two decades recovering bodies of civilians and soldiers — many of them Russian — killed by war. He was 40.

An Orthodox Christian service was held at the Cathedral of Saint Volodymyr, in central Kyiv, where thousands of people gathered to pay their respects following his death in a landmine explosion during a recovery mission on Wednesday.

Mourners also gathered at Kyiv's main Maidan Square, many dropping to their knees as a sign of respect as his casket was brought to the site. Memorial services were also held in other cities.

Yukov founded the organization known as Platsdarm, or Bridgehead, because he believed that all the dead deserve a proper burial. He became known as a “collector of souls.”

From the war-torn Donbas region, Yukov was a martial arts instructor. He began recovering the dead as a teenager after encountering the remains of Soviet and Russian soldiers from World War II.

Platsdarm’s volunteers go into fields and forests, among ruins and across territory, where the ground is often mined.

Yukov's widow, Evhenyia Kaluhyna, promised to continue his work, sobbing as she spoke at the funeral, wearing an embroidered white dress and standing over her husband's open casket.

“The work was difficult and terrifying,” she said. “But I promise you we will continue it because the (dead) deserve it, and you deserve it for everything you did.”

Speaking to The Associated Press, Yukov's daughter Diana Kaluhyna said the “love and kindness” he showed to grieving families had moved the nation.

“What stayed with me today was the simple truth: he honored the dead and healed the living,” she said. “He offered more than hope, he restored people.”

Yukov had suffered leg injuries and lost an eye in a mine blast in 2022. Still recovering from those injuries, he returned to the front line.

In a social media post last month, Yukov described the landscape in which he worked. “Remote mines, shelling, drones — everything is against you. But you go and do everything to ensure that every soul returns home,” he said.

He also addressed those who believed Russian bodies should simply be left behind: “When they say: ‘Let them rot,’ I do not agree. This is how we fight for every soul.”

Yukov spoke of his work in religious terms, saying a body was a soul waiting to go home.

“This is action,” he wrote. “Action every day in the fields, in the forest belts, among the ruins, where your life can end at any moment.”

Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.

Priests preside over a farewell ceremony for Oleksiy Yukov, who was fatally wounded while exhuming bodies of killed soldiers in the frontline in Donetsk region, in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Priests preside over a farewell ceremony for Oleksiy Yukov, who was fatally wounded while exhuming bodies of killed soldiers in the frontline in Donetsk region, in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Fellow soldiers carry the coffin of Oleksiy Yukov, who was fatally wounded while exhuming bodies of killed soldiers in the frontline in Donetsk region, during farewell service in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Relatives mourn at the coffin of Oleksiy Yukov, who was fatally wounded while exhuming bodies of killed soldiers in the frontline in Donetsk region, during farewell service in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Priests preside over a farewell ceremony for Oleksiy Yukov, who was fatally wounded while exhuming bodies of killed soldiers in the frontline in Donetsk region, in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin was taken off the field on a cart after an injury to his left knee that the team fears could be serious.

McLaurin was running a pattern in the first quarter Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers when he went down with the injury. His knee appeared to buckle as he tried to get free from cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.

McLaurin stayed down while teammates knelt nearby before he was driven off the field. He was immediately ruled out for the game.

“The concern now is that it could be significant,” coach Dan Quinn said after the Commanders' 23-17 loss. “We’ll do the scans (Tuesday) and give you an update. But that’s the concern tonight. It’s definitely something that there’s fear.”

The 31-year-old McLaurin has missed more than two games in a season only once since entering the league in 2019. He missed seven games last season while dealing with an injured quadriceps.

McLaurin has 15 catches for 230 yards and one touchdown this season, missing one game with an injured hamstring in Week 4.

He is a two-time Pro Bowler and has 513 catches for 7,191 yards and 42 touchdowns in his career.

The Commanders also lost defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw to a knee injury late in the first half, and he was ruled out for the game.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) is carted off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)