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Ukraine holds a funeral for an unknown soldier, as families still await identification.

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July 16th, 2026

Ukraine holds a funeral for an unknown soldier, as families still await identification.

Please note: This article has been simplified for language learning purposes. Some context and nuance from the original text may have been modified or removed.

🇺🇸 English

In a military cemetery in Kyiv, a brother and sister, holding carnations, weave through rows of crosses.

在基輔的一座軍人公墓裡，一對兄妹手持康乃馨，穿梭於成排的十字架之間。

Each cross in this area bears the same inscription: 'Unknown Defender of Ukraine,' with an identification number below and the annotation 'Identity being verified.'

該區域的每一座十字架皆鐫刻著相同的字句：「烏克蘭無名捍衛者」，其下方附有身份編號，並標註「身份辨識中」。

One grave in particular stood out: a photograph had later been affixed beneath the headstone, depicting Ihor Yalynych — a soldier last sighted in the Kharkiv region in 2022.

其中一座墳墓格外引人注目：墓碑下方後來貼上了一張照片，照片中的人物是伊霍爾·亞利尼奇——一名最後一次被目擊是在2022年哈爾科夫地區的士兵。

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

歷經四年的尋覓，斯坦尼斯拉夫與奧列克桑德拉·亞利尼奇終於尋獲了他們的父親。

Identifying the victims is a protracted endeavor and one of the most enduring traumas of Russia's war against Ukraine.

辨識罹難者身分是一項曠日持久的工程，也是俄羅斯對烏戰爭中持續最久的創痛之一。

Some graves may forever remain unnamed, leaving families to wait indefinitely.

部分墓塚可能永遠無名，家屬只能無盡等待。

In the early stages of the war, unidentified deceased had no place for burial, so their remains were temporarily stored in refrigerated units while the national military cemetery was still under construction.

戰爭初期，身份不明的死者無處安葬，遺體暫存於冷藏庫，而國家軍人公墓仍在施工。

Although the cemetery was completed in January, the first unidentified soldiers had already been buried as early as August of the previous year.

儘管公墓於一月竣工，早在去年八月首批無名士兵便已下葬。

Now, over three hundred individuals lie beneath numbered crosses, and new graves are still being excavated.

如今已有逾三百人長眠於編號十字架之下，新的墓穴仍持續開挖。

"As his most beloved daughter, his death has inflicted upon me an indescribable grief," expressed 21-year-old Oleksandra Yalynych.

「作為父親最鍾愛的女兒，他的離世令我承受著難以言喻的悲痛，」21歲的奧列克桑德拉·亞利尼奇如此表述。

"For these four years, my sole desire has been to come here, to quietly accompany him and confide in him... Now that I have finally found his resting place, I feel a profound sense of solace.

「這四年來，我唯一的念想便是來到此處，靜靜陪伴他、與他傾訴……如今，我終於尋獲了他的所在，內心深感欣慰。

At last, I have a place where I can entrust my grief."

我總算有了一個可以寄託哀思的歸處。」

Ihor Yalynych was killed in action in eastern Ukraine in April 2022.

伊霍爾·亞利尼奇於2022年4月在烏克蘭東部陣亡。

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

他自2015年起從軍，當時烏克蘭東部武裝衝突剛爆發，俄羅斯亦非法吞併了克里米亞。

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he was assigned to a brigade in the east.

2022年俄羅斯發動全面入侵之際，他隸屬於東部某旅。

He returned safely from his first mission and even sent a photo to his son, but on the second mission he never came back.

首次任務他平安歸來，還傳了照片給兒子，然而第二次任務他便一去不返。

After weeks of no communication, Stanislav posted a message on social media announcing his father's disappearance.

在數週音訊全無後，斯坦尼斯拉夫在社交媒體上發布了父親失蹤的消息。

An acquaintance spotted a photograph on a Russian Telegram channel—depicting nine soldiers in Ukrainian uniforms who had been shot dead and laid out in orderly rows—and recognised Ihor Yalynych.

一名熟人看到俄羅斯Telegram頻道上的一張照片——照片中九名身著烏克蘭軍裝的士兵遭槍殺，整齊排列——並認出了伊霍爾·亞利尼奇。

Upon seeing it, Stanislav realised that his father was among them.

斯坦尼斯拉夫看到後，明白父親也在其中。

The Ukrainian National Police confirmed to the Associated Press in the Kharkiv region that they are investigating the causes of death and identification of a group of Ukrainian soldiers' bodies discovered in that area in April 2022.

烏克蘭國家警察在哈爾科夫地區向美聯社證實，正在調查2022年4月於該區域發現的一批烏克蘭軍人遺體的死亡原因及身份辨識案件。

Ihor's body was initially left in the occupied area of the region and was only recovered after the area was retaken in September 2022.

伊霍爾的遺體最初留置於該地區的佔領區，直至2022年9月該區域收復後才得以尋獲。

The family had to navigate a series of bureaucratic procedures, including DNA identification, before they could retrieve the body, a process that took four years in total.

家屬必須歷經層層官僚程序，包括DNA鑑定，方能取回遺體，整個過程耗時四年。

"Had the police not lost the case files, the investigation might have progressed more quickly," Stanislav stated.

「倘若警方未曾遺失案件卷宗，調查進展或許會更為迅速，」斯坦尼斯拉夫表示。

According to him, the relevant documents were sent to the police station in the Mykolaiv region, his father's place of origin, where they lay untouched for over two years, with no one ever addressing them.

據他所述，相關檔案被送至其父親原籍地尼古拉耶夫地區的警局，並在該處擱置逾兩年之久，始終無人處理。

In response to a written inquiry from the Associated Press, the Mykolaiv police did not address the family's claims regarding the loss or delay of the files, merely stating that no criminal proceedings had been initiated concerning the identification of Ihor.

針對美聯社的書面查詢，尼古拉耶夫警方未就家屬所稱檔案遺失或延誤一事作出回應，僅表示無人針對伊霍爾的身分辨識提出刑事訴訟。

Due to the loss of the files, Stanislav was only permitted to provide a DNA sample for comparison approximately six months ago, and two months later the comparison results indicated a match.

由於檔案遺失，斯坦尼斯拉夫直至約半年前才獲准提供DNA樣本進行比對，兩個月後比對結果顯示吻合。

Nataliia Kalmykova, the Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, noted that at the funerals of Ukrainian soldiers, the national flag covering the coffin is folded and handed over to the family.

烏克蘭退伍軍人事務部部長娜塔莉亞·卡爾米科娃指出，在烏克蘭軍人的葬禮上，覆蓋棺木的國旗會摺好後交給家屬。

However, if the flag of an unidentified soldier remains unclaimed, the state receives it on their behalf, with each flag being carefully preserved until the soldier's identity is confirmed.

然而，若無名士兵的國旗無人認領，則由國家代為接收，每面旗幟均妥善保存，直至確認士兵身份為止。

"Honouring those who have sacrificed their lives for the nation is, first and foremost, something that those left behind truly need," she stated.

「向為國捐軀者致敬，首先真正需要的是那些留下來的人，」她說道。

"We thus understand it as the price paid for independence — in our case, national independence — and for the right of our country to choose its own path and democracy."

「我們因此理解為獨立——在我們的情況中是國家的獨立——以及為我國選擇自身道路與民主的權利所付出的代價。」

According to reports, three of the first soldiers buried as unknown persons have had their identities confirmed.

據報導，首批以無名氏身分下葬的士兵中，已有三人經確認其身分。

Karmikova pointed out that a large number of individuals remain unidentified to this day, with part of the reason traceable to the early stages of the war.

卡爾米科娃指出，大量人員至今身分未明，部分原因可追溯至戰爭初期。

At that time, soldiers who enlisted were not required to provide DNA samples, and consequently no relevant database had been established; this mechanism was only introduced later.

當時入伍的士兵無須提供DNA樣本，因此尚未建立相關資料庫，該機制是後來才設立的。

According to a senior officer not authorized to speak publicly, approximately half of Ukraine's military units have now submitted samples.

據一名未獲授權公開發言的高階軍官表示，目前約半數烏克蘭部隊已提交樣本。

If samples are absent from the database, the identification process must rely on close relatives coming forward to assist; however, many are unable to help, whether because they are in occupied territories, stranded abroad, have been out of contact for a long time, are completely unaware of the situation, or have even passed away.

若資料庫中缺乏樣本，辨識程序便須仰賴近親出面協助，然而許多人或因身處佔領區、滯留海外、失聯已久、對情況一無所知，甚或已然離世，以致無法提供協助。

Ruslan Abasov, Deputy Director of the National Scientific Research Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, noted that since the full-scale invasion, authorities have registered over 40,000 samples from unidentified bodies, the vast majority of which have been cross-referenced with a portion of the 170,000 samples obtained from relatives.

內政部國家科學研究法醫中心副主任魯斯蘭·阿巴索夫指出，自全面入侵以來，當局已登記超過四萬份身份不明屍體的樣本，其中絕大多數已與從親屬取得的十七萬份樣本中的一部分完成比對。

Abasov pointed out that forensic work often extends beyond the confines of the laboratory, with investigators seeking to obtain an individual's DNA through alternative means, such as searching their residence or personal belongings.

阿巴索夫指出，鑑識工作往往超出實驗室的範疇，調查人員會設法透過其他途徑獲取個人的DNA，例如搜查其住所或遺留物品。

When an unidentified body is buried, a number is placed inside the coffin, marked on the outside, and engraved on the cross in front of the grave.

無名屍體下葬時，棺內會放入一個編號，棺外也會標示，並刻在墓前的十字架上。

A register records which body corresponds to each number, so that the grave can be located when a match is successful.

登記冊會記錄每個編號對應哪具遺體，以便比對成功時能找到墳墓。

The remains primarily come from the front-line battlefields and are obtained through the repatriation procedure established with Russia.

遺體主要來自前線戰場，並透過與俄羅斯建立的遺體歸還程序取得。

According to statistics from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Ukraine has recovered 24,805 bodies since the invasion began.

根據戰俘待遇協調總部的統計，自入侵以來，烏克蘭已接回24,805具遺體。

The pockets of the deceased often contain documents such as passports, military IDs, or driver's licenses; nevertheless, DNA testing is still required, as it cannot be confirmed that these documents indeed belong to the same body.

遺體口袋中時常裝有護照、軍人證或駕照等證件，然而仍須進行DNA檢測，因為無法確認這些文件確實屬於同一具遺體。

Forensic pathologist Maksym Patsiula points out that the remains of multiple deceased individuals are sometimes mixed together in the same bag, making the collection of DNA samples particularly challenging.

法醫馬克西姆·帕齊烏拉指出，有時多名死者的遺骸會混雜於同一袋中，導致採集DNA樣本的工作變得格外棘手。

The vast majority of the bodies are already in an advanced stage of severe decomposition.

絕大部分遺體已處於高度腐敗的晚期階段。

His branch in the Kyiv region processes between 15 and 20 bodies daily, preserving them through refrigeration until their identities are confirmed or they can be buried.

他在基輔地區的分部每日處理15至20具遺體，並以冷藏方式保存，直至身份確認或得以安葬。

He points out that, compared to peacetime, the workload has increased approximately fivefold.

他指出，與和平時期相較，工作量已增加約五倍。

"Even after the war ends, we still have a great deal of work," said Patsiura.

「即使戰爭結束，我們仍有大量工作，」帕齊烏拉說。

"Identification is a lengthy and arduous process that will not conclude with the cessation of hostilities."

「身份辨識是一個漫長而艱鉅的過程，不會隨著戰事終止而結束。」

For the families, identification is not only a matter of emotional closure but also a substantive legal procedure.

對家屬而言，身份確認不僅關乎心靈的圓滿，更是一項實質性的法律程序。

Until death is officially confirmed, relatives cannot handle inheritance matters, the remarriage of a spouse, or claim compensation benefits for the families of the fallen.

在死亡正式確認之前，親屬無法處理遺產繼承、配偶再婚事宜，也無法領取陣亡者家屬的撫卹補償金。

Abbasov cited the Western Balkans as an example, noting that although the hostilities in that region ended long ago, the remains of the deceased are still undergoing identification to this day.

阿巴索夫以西巴爾幹地區為例，指出該區域的戰事雖已結束多時，但罹難者的遺骸至今仍在進行身分鑑定。

He further stated that the situation in Ukraine will follow a similar pattern.

他進一步表示，烏克蘭的情況亦將如出一轍。

When Stanislav Yalynych saw his father's photograph embedded in the tombstone, the heavy weight in his heart was finally somewhat lifted.

當斯坦尼斯拉夫·亞利尼奇看到父親的照片被嵌在墓碑上時，心中那塊大石總算稍微放下了。

"Now, it is not only we who know that our father rests here," he said.

「如今，不僅是我們知道父親長眠於此，」他說。

"Since that photograph was affixed, strangers often pause to inquire.

「自那張照片貼上後，常有陌生人駐足詢問。

For Stanislav, this signifies that his father's sacrifice was not in vain, and his memory will be perpetuated eternally."

對斯坦尼斯拉夫而言，這意味著父親的犧牲並非徒然，他的記憶將得以永續流傳。」

July 16th, 2026

The Lingo Times

Ukraine holds a funeral for an unknown soldier, as families still await identification.

Ukraine holds a funeral for an unknown soldier, as families still await identification.

🇺🇸 English

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