The Ukrainian counter-offensive is progressing slowly, and the work of the troops collecting the bodies of fallen soldiers has become even more grim, the New York Times wrote. “We have many more bodies at the moment; I think the number of dead has more or less doubled since the counter-offensive began,” Taras Swystun, a member of a six-member unit that collects, identifies and returns the bodies of fallen Ukrainians, told the newspaper.
Recovered bodies are often disfigured beyond recognition. “If they don’t have faces, we cut off their clothes and look for tattoos, scars and other identifying marks,” explained Swystun. “My job is to help our people who have died come home,” he added.
The American newspaper accompanied the soldiers of the unit in their work for two days. Access was granted on the condition that the exact death toll would not be disclosed. “The Ukrainian military does not publish the number of casualties suffered by its forces. Nevertheless, it is clear that the number of deaths among soldiers is increasing. There are piles of bodies in military morgues” – noted “NYT”.
Most of those killed were in recent fighting, but the bodies of soldiers killed months ago are also being recovered.