The head of the search detachment "Platform", Oleksiy Yukov, who dedicated over 25 years to returning the bodies of fallen soldiers, has died. The tragedy occurred during another mission to exhume remains on the line of contact, where he sustained a mortal wound. This was reported by his wife Yevheniia and military Serhiy Hnezdilov.

Oleksiy Yukov began his search work at the age of 12, when he saw abandoned remains of soldiers from World War II near the village of Bohorodychne. Later, this grew into a life mission – the creation of the "Platform" Association in Sloviansk.

Since 2014, Yukov's team was one of the first in the country to join the evacuation of the bodies of Ukrainian defenders and civilians from the hottest spots in Donetsk Oblast – including Sloviansk, Debaltseve, and Ilovaisk. In recent years, the detachment worked in close cooperation with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine within the framework of the humanitarian project "On Shields".

Despite constant mortal danger, shelling, and mined territories, volunteers under Yukov's leadership not only evacuated Ukrainian heroes but also collected the bodies of Russian occupiers to replenish the exchange fund and bring our fallen back home.

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We remind you that the Association of Researchers of Military-Historical Heritage "Platform" was founded in Sloviansk. Initially, the organization researched the sites of battles of the First and Second World Wars, but since 2014 it has completely reoriented itself to searching for and recovering the bodies of fallen defenders and civilians in the hotspots of Donbas. Over the years of its activity, the "Platform" team has evacuated thousands of remains, cooperating with the Armed Forces of Ukraine within the mission "On Shields" and replenishing the exchange fund for the return of Ukrainian heroes home.