"Alexei clears his throat without showing the slightest expression on his face. Squatting and wearing gloves, he shakes the military uniform that once belonged to a man. The jacket and trousers still hold their shape, but inside there is nothing. Just air. Alexei pulls out a worn, stained piece of paper from one of the pockets. Andrei. Moscow, he reads aloud. There's a phone number written here. Good. It helps us trace his origin. Whoever he was, he was a Russian soldier."
"The other three bodies, somewhat more intact, also belong to Russian soldiers. A pack of ibuprofen, a pair of glasses missing the left lens, a credit card, a tattoo on the back, a grimy St George's ribbon nostalgically symbolising the patriotism of Mother Russia reveal their origins. Still, doubt always plays a key role. The feet of the last corpse are still covered in socks from the Ukrainian army."
Alexei and a group of Ukrainian search volunteers recover four bodies from the Donbas front and attempt to identify them using clothing, personal effects and notes. One uniform pocket yields a stained paper reading 'Andrei. Moscow' and a phone number, suggesting a Russian soldier. Volunteers catalogue details on a whiteboard, photograph body parts and assign identification numbers. The recovery team has now recorded over 1,500 fallen soldiers. Other items such as ibuprofen, glasses, a credit card, a tattoo and a grimy St George's ribbon point to Russian origins, while socks from the Ukrainian army create uncertainty. Volunteers exchange observations to resolve identities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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