In a military cemetery in Kyiv, a brother and sister walk between the crosses, carrying a bunch of carnations.

Each cross in that section bears the same words: “unknown defender of Ukraine,” with an ID number below and a note that identification is ongoing.

One grave is particularly striking: beneath the inscription, a photograph was later affixed, depicting Ihor Yalynych, a soldier last seen alive in the Kharkiv region in 2022.

After four years of searching, Stanislav and Oleksandra Yalynych located their father.

Identifying the dead is a reckoning that will stretch on for years, among the longest-lasting wounds of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Some graves may remain nameless forever, leaving families to wait.

Throughout much of the war, there was no designated site for interring the unidentified deceased.

The remains were preserved in refrigerated storage while the national military cemetery remained under construction.

Even before its completion in January, the first contingent of unknown soldiers had been laid to rest the preceding August.

Over 300 now repose beneath numbered crosses, with additional graves being excavated.

"I was always a daddy's girl, and I struggled profoundly with the loss," said Oleksandra Yalynych, 21.

"Throughout these four years, my sole desire was to come and sit with him, to talk.... Now I am relieved we have located him. Now I have a place to go."

Ihor Yalynych was killed in April 2022 in eastern Ukraine.

He had been serving in the military since 2015, the year after the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted and Russia illegally annexed Crimea.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he was deployed with a brigade stationed in eastern Ukraine.

He survived his first mission and sent photographs to his son, but he never returned from the second.

After weeks of silence, Stanislav posted on social media that his father was missing.

An acquaintance had come across a photograph on a Russian Telegram channel — nine soldiers in Ukrainian uniform, shot and lying in a row — and recognised Ihor Yalynych among them.

When Stanislav saw it, he realised that his father was among them.

The National Police of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region has informed the Associated Press that an investigation is currently underway into the deaths of a group of Ukrainian servicemen, whose remains were found in the area in April 2022, as well as into their identification.

Ihor’s body remained in the occupied portion of the region and was only retrieved after the area was liberated in September 2022.

The family had to navigate multiple layers of bureaucracy, including DNA testing, before they could recover his remains—a process that took four years.

"The process could have been expedited had the police not mishandled the case," Stanislav said.

According to him, the file was forwarded to the police in the Mykolaiv region, where his father originated, and languished unprocessed for over two years.

In response to a written inquiry from the Associated Press, the Mykolaiv police did not address the family's claim regarding a missing file or a delay, stating only that no criminal proceedings had been initiated concerning Ihor's identification.

Due to the absence of the file, Stanislav was only permitted to provide a DNA sample for comparison approximately six months ago, with the match being confirmed two months later.

At a Ukrainian military funeral, the flag draped over the coffin is folded and presented to the family.

When there is no one to receive the flag of an unknown soldier, the state steps in, accepting each flag and holding it until the soldier can be identified, according to Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova.

"Honouring someone who sacrifices their life for their country is, above all, a genuine necessity for those left behind," she remarked.

"It enables us to grasp the cost of independence — in our case, our nation's — for the right to determine our own path and uphold democracy within this country."

Three of those initially interred as unidentified have subsequently been identified, she stated.

According to Kalmykova, one reason so many remain unidentified stems from the early stages of the invasion, when soldiers who enlisted in the initial years were not required to provide DNA samples, meaning no database existed at that time.

Such a database was only established later.

A senior military official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, indicated that approximately half of Ukraine's troops have now submitted samples.

When no sample is available in the database, identification requires a close relative to come forward, but many cannot because they live in occupied territory, are abroad, are estranged, are unaware, or have simply vanished.

Since the full-scale invasion began, over 40,000 samples from unidentified bodies have been recorded, according to Ruslan Abbasov, deputy director of the State Scientific Research Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The majority of these have now been matched with some of the 170,000 samples taken from relatives.

According to Abbasov, identification often extends beyond the laboratory, as investigators pursue alternative methods to obtain a person’s DNA, such as searching an apartment or belongings they have left behind.

Upon the burial of an unidentified body, a number is placed inside the coffin, displayed on its exterior, and engraved on the cross marking the grave.

A registry links each number to the corresponding body, so that when a number matches its DNA profile, the grave can be located.

Bodies are recovered directly from the battlefield and through repatriation from Russian forces.

Since the onset of the invasion, Ukraine has repatriated 24,805 bodies, as reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Pockets may occasionally contain passports, military identification cards, or driver's licenses.

Nevertheless, DNA testing remains necessary, as there is no guarantee that the documents belong to the individual with whom they are found.

Maksym Paziura, a forensic medical examiner, noted that in certain instances, the remains of multiple individuals are combined within a single bag, which complicates even the process of obtaining a DNA sample.

The majority of the bodies are in an advanced state of decomposition.

His facility in the Kyiv region processes between 15 and 20 bodies daily, storing them under refrigeration until they can be identified or interred.

He noted that the workload has increased roughly fivefold compared to peacetime.

"Even if the war concludes, we will still face a considerable amount of work," Paziura stated.

"Identification is a demanding, protracted process, and it will not cease when the hostilities end."

For families, identification is not solely about achieving closure.

Until a death is officially confirmed, relatives are unable to settle an inheritance, remarry, or claim the compensation owed to the families of the deceased.

Abbasov drew attention to the Western Balkans, where the identification of remains continues long after the cessation of hostilities.

Ukraine, he asserted, will prove no different.

Upon glimpsing his father's photograph on the grave, Stanislav Yalynych experienced a profound easing of his inner turmoil.

“Now it will no longer be solely us who are aware that our father is buried there,” he remarked.

Since the photograph was published, strangers have paused to inquire about him.

For Stanislav, this signifies that his father’s sacrifice was not in vain, and his legacy will endure.