At a newly built military cemetery on the outskirts of Kyiv, long rows of wooden crosses stand in silent testament to the human toll of the conflict. Each grave is marked with the same simple phrase: Temporary Unidentified Defender of Ukraine. Beneath the text is a unique identification number and a brief note confirming that efforts to identify the individual are still ongoing.
Among these hundreds of identical plots, one grave now bears a personal touch.
A soldier named Ihor Yalynych, who went missing in the eastern Kharkiv region in the spring of 2022. For over four years, his children, Stanislav and Oleksandra Yalynych, searched tirelessly for their father. They eventually succeeded in tracing his final resting place, bringing an end to a long period of painful uncertainty.
Oleksandra, who is twenty-one years old, explained that she had always been exceptionally close to her father and found his loss incredibly difficult to process. For four years, her only wish was to have a specific place to visit, where she could sit and speak with him. She expressed a sense of relief that they had finally located him.
The scale of the task facing Ukrainian authorities is vast. The effort to identify thousands of dead soldiers is expected to continue for many years, representing one of the most enduring tragedies of the war. Countless families continue to wait for news of their loved ones, whilst experts warn that some graves may never be identified.
For a significant portion of the conflict, Ukraine lacked a dedicated burial site for its unidentified servicemen and women. Bodies had to be kept in refrigerated storage units whilst construction of the national military cemetery was carried out. Although the cemetery did not officially open until January, the first burials of unidentified troops took place in August. Today, more than 300 plots are marked only by numbers, and more burials are taking place regularly.
Ihor Yalynych was killed in April 2022. He had been a member of the armed forces since 2015, joining shortly after hostilities first erupted in the east of the country and Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. When the full-scale invasion began in 2022, he was deployed with his brigade in the east. He survived his first combat mission and sent pictures to his son, but he failed to return from his second assignment.
After weeks of silence, Stanislav posted details online to state that his father was missing. Eventually, an acquaintance spotted Ihor Yalynych in a photograph published on a Russian social media channel, which showed nine deceased Ukrainian soldiers lying side by side.
The National Police in the Kharkiv region have confirmed that an active investigation is underway regarding the deaths and identification of the servicemen found in that area during April 2022. Although his remains were recovered after Ukrainian forces regained control of the territory in September 2022, the family had to navigate four years of complex administrative hurdles and genetic testing before they could claim him.
According to Stanislav, the bureaucratic process was severely delayed because his father's file was transferred to police in the Mykolaiv region, where the soldier was originally from, and remained untouched for more than two years. Local police in Mykolaiv declined to comment directly on the allegations of a lost file, stating only that no formal criminal complaint had been lodged regarding the identification. Due to the administrative delay, Stanislav was only permitted to submit a DNA sample six months ago, with a match confirmed two months later.
In traditional Ukrainian military funerals, the state flag covering the coffin is folded and presented to the family of the deceased. When a soldier cannot be identified, there is no family present to receive it. Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova explained that in these cases, the state retains the flag in safekeeping until the soldier is identified. She emphasised that honouring those who make the ultimate sacrifice is vital for the nation, acting as a constant reminder of the cost of independence and democracy.
So far, only three of the unidentified soldiers buried at the Kyiv cemetery have been successfully named. Natalia Kalmykova noted that many remains are difficult to identify because soldiers who enlisted during the initial phase of the invasion were not required to provide genetic samples. A database was established later, and roughly half of the current active troops have now provided DNA samples, according to a senior military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Without an existing sample on file, investigators rely entirely on genetic matches from close relatives. This has proved difficult as many relatives are currently living in occupied areas, have moved abroad, are estranged, or cannot be located.
Ruslan Abbasov, the deputy director of the State Scientific Research Forensic Centre, stated that more than 40,000 DNA samples from unidentified bodies have been registered since the invasion began. The majority of these have been compared against 170,000 samples collected from family members. In cases where family samples are unavailable, investigators sometimes search the missing soldier's former home or personal items to collect usable genetic material.
To ensure matches can be tracked, every unidentified body is buried with a unique identification number placed inside the coffin, written on the exterior, and carved into the wooden grave cross. An official register records these numbers, allowing authorities to locate the exact grave once a DNA match is made.
The sheer volume of bodies arriving from the front line or through exchanges with Russia continues to strain local resources. Since the start of the invasion, Ukraine has repatriated 24,805 bodies, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Even when personal items like passports or driving licences are found on a body, DNA testing is still required to confirm the identity beyond doubt.
Forensic medical examiner Maksym Paziura described the physical challenges of the process, explaining that remains of different individuals are sometimes co-mingled in a single bag. Advanced decomposition also hampers the collection of clear genetic material.
His team in the Kyiv region processes between 15 and 20 bodies every single day, keeping them in large cooling facilities until they are identified or buried. This workload is roughly five times higher than their pre-war average. Maksym Paziura warned that even if the fighting stops tomorrow, the forensic teams will face a mountain of work for decades to come.
For the families left behind, resolving a relative's status is not just an emotional necessity. Without a formal death certificate, relatives are legally unable to settle estate matters, remarry, or claim the state compensation provided to the families of fallen servicemen.
Forensic expert Ruslan Abbasov pointed to the Western Balkans, where efforts to identify victims of the conflicts of the 1990s are still taking place decades later. He warned that Ukraine will face a very similar long-term challenge.
For Stanislav Yalynych, seeing his father's photograph finally placed on the wooden cross has brought a measure of peace. He noted that other visitors now stop by the grave to read about his father, ensuring his sacrifice is remembered and was not made in vain.
