Ukraine buries its unknown soldiers as families wait for identification
More than 300 unidentified servicemen lie in numbered graves as officials process 15 to 20 bodies a day and families wait years for DNA matches.
- On April 30, 2026, Ukrainian officials buried more than 300 unidentified soldiers at a military cemetery near Kyiv, with the state holding their flags until identities are confirmed.
- Since Russia's invasion began, forensic teams have logged more than 40,000 DNA samples from unidentified bodies, matching them against 170,000 relative samples despite many early casualties lacking mandatory registration.
- Administrative failures compound delays; the Yalynych family's file sat unprocessed for more than two years after police lost it. Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova stated the state accepts and holds flags until families are identified.
- Families remain unable to settle inheritance, remarriage, or compensation claims until deaths are formally confirmed, leaving relatives in prolonged legal limbo and uncertainty.
- Forensic expert Paziura warned that "identification is a hard, long process" that will extend for years, with experts drawing parallels to the Western Balkans, where bodies remained unidentified long after conflicts ended.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Increasingly frequent attacks on recruiting officers rock Ukraine, on the basis of difficulties in mobilizing in the fifth year of the war with Russia. A decorated veteran, who survived the fights in Donbas, told the BBC how he was beaten with a rank of his own countrymen while trying to identify people who supported the incorporation.
More and more Ukrainian recruitment officers are being attacked by their own countrymen – but the violence goes both ways. It points directly to one of the biggest problems for Ukraine's defense, which is "absolutely crucial" to solve, says Berlingske correspondent Simon Kruse.
More than 600 attacks on military officials have already been registered by the Ukrainian police, while thousands of complaints have been made about illegal recruitment methods.
In addition to the growing Russian attacks, civilians in Ukraine are also beginning to fear violence from their own compatriots. The harsh methods of conscription are evidenced by the statements of conscripts and soldiers, according to whom physical attacks during mobilization are increasingly common. The crisis surrounding military recruitment is also complicated by the decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Aggression towards people in charge of recruitment is becoming a growing problem in Ukraine, say the police.
Vasil Krupych knows what it means to fight for Ukraine. He participated in battles in the eastern Donbas region, where, sometimes praying, sometimes crying, somehow survived the attacks of Russian troops, writes BBC. But last December, Krupych was attacked by his own compatriots while looking for people who avoided recruitment. He says...
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