Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find offensive.
Artur describes his work as “recovering the dead from oblivion”.
He and two young Ukrainians, Denys, face the difficult task of collecting the bodies of civilians and soldiers killed in this brutal war. This includes not only the remains of their own compatriots, but also Russians.
The day we met, they were in a newly liberated area in eastern Ukraine.
Artur says their job is to ensure that no bodies are left behind on the battlefield.
The ground is filled with rubble, abandoned trenches and deep grenade holes. It has been reported that there are several bodies somewhere in this scene of apocalyptic destruction.
You can still hear the sound of war in the distance. Artur says they know the job is dangerous, but justifies the risks because “the most important thing is to get the dead out of this terrible war.”
They open the door of a white van marked with a red cross and the number 200 – the military code for transporting dead soldiers. When they open the back door, there is a sickening smell of death and maggots from corpses gathered on the floor earlier in the day.
Artur and Denys have been informed that there are other bodies nearby, but they must now locate them.
Denys launches a small drone equipped with a camera to spy on the area.
They’re not only looking for bodies, but also for traces of mines. A member of their crew was recently injured by a person. This is a constant danger.
They now take the precaution of throwing a hook to turn the body over before approaching the remains. Russian forces are known to have left booby traps on buildings and even corpses before retreating.
The day before, a Ukrainian military engineer told me that he thought there were about 100,000 mines in the newly liberated areas of eastern Ukraine. And it will take a long time to get rid of them.
In general, the engineer states, one year of combat is equivalent to five years of mine clearance.
Artur and Denys believe they identified the likely location after flying the drone for about 20 minutes.
A bombed-out building next to a dilapidated railway siding. They don their helmets and bulletproof vests and carefully move through the rubble.
Inside the collapsed structure are the charred remains of three bodies. At first it is difficult to distinguish the remains from burnt wood. Arthur and Denys slowly begin to identify the bones. They carefully review the rest, looking for any identifying marks.
This time they are not collecting the corpses of their own citizens, but dead Russian soldiers. No identification documents survive the fire, but Artur and Denys find the burnt buckle of a Russian military belt.
Small fragments of the ceramic plates of the vest also tell them that these three men were fighting for Russia.
There are other personal items on the floor as well, including a pair of glasses. Each one is photographed and recorded.
They will be carefully packed in body bags, loaded into the van, and returned with the remains.
It takes them several hours to complete the delicate task of retrieving every single piece that was once part of a human life.
The collected bodies are then taken to a local morgue.
honorably buried
Artur claims to feel almost spiritual relief when he recovers a corpse, no matter who it is.
“We feel like the person will eventually come out of the war,” he says.
He says that when Russia saves its dead, “there is a clear understanding that they will be exchanged for our dead and our dead will be buried with dignity in Ukraine.” It is the Red Cross that mediates the exchange between countries.
Artur and Denys often attend the funerals of Ukrainian soldiers they saved from oblivion.
They have witnessed more death than life during this year. Artur realizes that this will eventually affect his emotional state. But he adds:
“I understand we did a good job and that gives me some motivation and hope that the war will be over soon.”
Their role shows that the war in Ukraine is not just a physical war. There is also a moral component that is reflected in the way an army treats both the living and the dead.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63701893.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.