On the outskirts of Kyiv, local workers are preparing graves for fallen soldiers in an overcrowded cemetery.
The high death toll of Russia’s war on Ukraine has not only led to a shortage of available burial plots in cemeteries around the country but also caused skyrocketing funeral costs for grieving families.
With tens of thousands of Ukrainians killed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, graveyards across the country are reaching capacity. “We run six cemeteries. Of the six, five are closed,” Ihor Sereda the owner of a funeral agency on the outskirts of Kyiv said. “That means there is no free burial plots in them.”
The rising demand has driven funeral expenses to unprecedented levels, according to Sereda.
“Before the war, funerals cost between $190 and $215," he says. "After our area was occupied, funerals started costing around $290. Now, they cost about $360.”
In many cases, families receive help with funerals from local administration offices or the military commissariat, but costs are still high, especially in major cities like Kyiv, where most cemeteries are no longer accepting new burials.
One family in Baykove Cemetery, one of the capital’s most prestigious, reported paying over $1,000 for a burial plot and funeral services, an enormous sum for most Ukrainian families.
“Without the plot, it cost $770,” said a woman standing next to the grave of her relative. “Add $200 here and there, and the total was around $1,450.”
The lack of space and high demand has led some Ukrainians to purchase plots and gravestones in advance to hedge against further price hikes.
The situation is better outside major cities, where there is more available land to expand cemeteries.
But in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities, it can be more difficult to add territory as graveyards are often surrounded by private property.
And the situation is unlikely to improve as the death toll continues to increase amid Russia’s brutal attacks the country.
